There and back again, at least I hope so
by Chrysalis1986
Summary: Erica and Sam have done a very cliched thing. Through an argument and a mishap, they are sent into a world that neither thought could have existed.Without money, food or a clue, they fight to get back to their own world. How will this journey change them?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi there, just a quick word before you can get to the story. This is the first chapter, so its kind of the prologue. Just thought I should warn you. Chapter two is where stuff really starts to happen but pretty please read this chapter anyway. Oh and if you could review I would really appreciate it, even if its one word and that word is junk.**

**Also, there may be some inappropriate things said or mentioned in this story so be warned.**

**I do not own Naruto, though I would if I could.**

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Sam and I had a very special kind of relationship. We weren't exactly friends but we spent a lot of time together and knew each other pretty well I can say. We had only one thing in common though and that was an obsession with time travel. I was a History major and he was a physics major. We met at a lecture on the nature and properties and black holes in our first year. After that afternoon we met almost every day for coffee or I met him in the Physics lab just to hang out. I can tell you now, a lot of people thought we were dating but they were totally wrong. For more months than I can tell you, I thought Sam was gay. I used to tell people how much I liked having a gay bff and how nice it was to have a guy to talk to who wasn't trying to screw me. To my surprise, he wasn't. How I found out? I found his...private video collection on his laptop. At first I thought, well I didn't know what to think, really but I couldn't believe it was his...stuff, so I asked him. He isn't gay.

You can't really blame me for thinking he was gay, I mean really. He's a tall guy, 5'9" at least but very lean. His very red hair was perpetually overgrown and he had the widest, brightest, bluest eyes surrounded by long black lashes. Don't ask me how a redhead gets black lashes but there you go. His face didn't help either. It was soft and smooth as though he had never gone through puberty and his skin was more flawless than mine. Oh and he wore those thick rimmed black framed glasses that physicists and poets seem to favour. To top it all off, he had a beautifully shaped mouth that was a naturally peachy sort of hue. In short, he looked like a tall tom boyish girl. It really wasn't my fault.

Anyway, after we cleared that up we still got along pretty well. He was my date to weddings and holidays (when I was short of a boyfriend, which happened more often than I like to admit) and I was the same for him. By our second year we were still close but things had started to be a little different. I picked up a steady boyfriend named Jack who insisted on most of my free time. I saw Sam less and less till we hung out only once a week on Friday afternoons. He had changed too. He was shorter tempered and never wanted to go anywhere anymore. I tried to help him be, well, more fashionable but he insisted on his oversized frumpy ass sweaters and jeans. I wanted to go for walks and out to the mall but he almost never wanted to leave. I saw our friendship as nearing the end and I didn't want that so we met almost once a week no matter what.

Dropping my too heavy bag near a large, funny looking machine thing, I snuck up behind him intent on scaring the bejeezus out of him.

'I know you're there, don't even think about it. Why do you wear so much perfume anyway?'

'Hm! I'll have you know, I was just out with Jack...so...' I trailed off. I knew Sam didn't like Jack.

'Hn. Okay.'

All this time he hadn't even turned from the computer to look at me. I was having a very bad day so far and Sam was beginning to piss me off. Deep breaths girl, I told myself, no need to kill the boy ...yet. I scowled and walk up behind him. Leaning over, which was hard to do because he was so tall, I tried to make out what he was doing.

'Get off me Erica. I'm trying to finish something here.'

'You always say that. What are you working on anyway?'

'Nothing. Just move.'

I huffed and pushed away from him. 'Fine.'

I went over to the strange contraption that sat in the middle of the room looking large and dangerous and technical.

'Sam, what's this thing?' I asked nudging it with my toe.

'An atom compressor. That thing costs a fortune, even if it doesn't work so don't touch it.'

'My aren't we pmessy this afternoon.' I muttered examining the machine more closely. An atom compressor, this was a very special machine.

'Whose machine is it? Does it belong to the department?'

'No, its mine.'

'Seriously?'

He finally turned to look at me rubbing his eyes tiredly and putting his glasses in the collar of his ugly red sweater.

'Seriously.'

'You done doing what you were doing?'

'uh huh.' He stood up and stretched making himself look even taller.

'Hey Sam, did you grow again?'

'Huh? What do you mean?' he asked going up on tiptoe to stretch his legs.

'You look taller and well broader...kinda. I don't know. Stay there.'

I went up to him and stood chest to chest with him.

'Well damn, you did grow a little. The top of my head used to come up to your nose, now it only reaches your jaw. Aww...you're growing up!' I squealed, pinching his cheek a little.

'Whatever.' he said walking around me to go to the Great Compressor as I had started calling it in my head.

I just snickered and followed him.

'What are you planning to do with this thing anyway? Is it related to that theory you were working on?'

'Sort of and not quite. I was doing some research and I came across this for sale. It's from the USSR or was originally, at least.'

'Cool. What can it do?'

'I don't know, yet. The person who sold it to me told me that it didn't work anymore. Oh and it was missing a plug. I had to take one off the coffeemaker at home.'

'That doesn't sound particularly safe.'

'It's just a plug, it should be fine. Plus it's not working anyway.'

'Wait, you're not actually going to plug that in are you.'

He paused in the act of bending over to plug in the machine. Well someone had a nice butt, I thought randomly. Shaking my head to clear the image, I said

'This seems like something out a bad fanfic, don't do it!'

'A bad what?'

I blushed, 'Nothing, it just seems like a bad idea, an electrical mishap waiting to happen. What's holding the wire together anyway?'

'Electrical tape, obviously. And I do need to see if the cord works. Step back.'

I stepped back and waited with baited breath as he put the plug very slowly into the surge protector. I closed my eyes waiting for an explosion. Nothing happened. I opened my eyes to see the machine was plugged in but just as Sam had said, the machine wasn't working. I let out my breath slowly. Sam began practically crawling over the machine looking at it from every angle.

'Well it's getting power, I can tell that much. It could be something as simple as a loose wire or it could be irreparable.' He sighed and we back over to the computer.

I lost it a little.

'Sam, what are you doing?' I asked in a dangerously sweet voice. He tensed recognising the tone.

'I'm just checking to see if there is an online manual for this thing.'

'Is that all you're going to do this afternoon?'

'Well yeah,' he turned to look at me. 'This is the first step in creating a worm hole. Once I can do that I can study it more closely and once I do THAT I can figure out if it can be used to traverse...'

'Stop. Just stop. I know that you're really into that stuff but,'

'Oh and you aren't?'

'Well not so much anymore...I mean I'm not even sure it's possible now much less that some nerd in college is going to accidentally stumble across it. It's just not likely.'

For a second I felt smug. I had wiped the supercilious expression off his face but then his face hardened and I realised that I had gone too far. About to apologise, he turned away his shoulders stiff.

'Get out.' He said quietly. 'Go away.'

'Sam, I didn't...' Was this the end? Had a great friendship died because I couldn't keep my mouth shut. I felt tears well up. 'Sam I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of that. I've been having a really crappy day, I went out with Jack and,'

'I don't care about you and Jack. Just get the hell out.'

Frowning I grabbed my bag and hoisted it roughly unto my back. I was so upset that I barely heard the ripping sound as the bottom of bag my gave way. I didn't see what happened but I felt myself get splashed. Before I could respond there was a sizzle sound, a hum and then pain. I screamed but I couldn't move. As my vision went dark I felt something collide with me hard but by then I was too far gone to care.

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Chapter 1/Prologue all done. Please review.


	2. There

Hi guys! Thank you, all of you who have read the first chapter and enjoyed it and a big extra special thanks to EmilyMichele who reviewed. It was my first one and it made me all warm and happy inside so thank you so much. This chapter is dedicated to my first reviewer.

Oh and I'm really sorry again, please don't harm me. This chapter is still kinda intro-ish cuz I didn't want to just jump in without letting you know how they got there. Things do start happening from here though so the next chapter is packed with Akatsuki goodness, we for us anyway.

I do not own Naruto, if I did, Sakura would be 120% more awesome.

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There.

I awoke to the sound of birds chirping. I cringed as a bright light was forced into my eyes.

'Oh thank god.' Came a soft hoarse voice. 'Get up lazy, we can't stay here.'

'Huh?'

'I said that we can't stay here. We're in the middle of a forest...somewhere.'

I sat up slowly feeling an ache in every muscle in my body. My skin felt burnt like I'd lain in the sun too long.

'What happened to me? I feel like shit.'

'You don't look so hot either.' Sam said teasingly kneeling next to me. He was a mess. His clothes were torn and his face was scratched and bleeding.

'Holy hell! What happened to you?' I reached out to touch his face but he pulled back.

'I'm fine. We fell...from up there.' He turned slightly and pointed to a broken branch some twenty feet off the ground.

'We should be dead. How did we survive that?'

'Well I hit a few branches and landed in a pile of leaves and you...well you landed on me.'

I winced, I wasn't the lightest individual. 'Sorry bout that.'

'You're not that heavy you know.' He said seeming to read my mind.

'Anywho...why are we in a forest?'

'I have no idea.'

'Oh, okay.'

As soon as I was able to walk, my muscles felt like noodles, we began to look for a way out. We found a dirt road within 15 minutes but after travelling for more than three hours, we still hadn't found civilisation. Sam had been silent and thinking for most of the trip but had refused to share any of his thoughts with me. I assumed that he was trying to figure out how we had gotten here, same as I was, but he never said so much as a word. We had stopped, for the 50th time at least, so that I could rest. I decided then that I had enough.

'Sam, listen, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I didn't mean a word of it. I was having a bad day and Fr...well I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I'm sorry. Frankly you're a genius and if anyone can figure out what's happened to us, it will be you. So will you please start talking to me again!'

'Sorry, what?'

'Urgghhh! Sam! Where the hell are we?'

'I'm not ready to tell you yet.'

'Say what?'

'I'm,'

'I get that, but why? Do you even know?'

'Know? Not really. I have a couple of theories which I am sure have occurred to you as well but I don't want to jump to conclusions. They sound too outlandish to,'

'Shut up and tell me so I can agree with you.'

'Shut up or tell you? Which one?'

'I hate you Redhead!' I said smiling.

'Back at you Demiblonde.' He replied a smile tugging at his lips.

It seemed funny that after all that had happened it would take some weird shit like this to make us friends again. He sighed and sat down next to me on the grass. Looking at the road , he began to speak.

'As far as I can see there are two main possibilities. One is that I am hallucinating and none of this is happening and the other is that we really, somehow left the lab without either of us being conscious and somehow ended up here.'

I pinched myself hard on the arm, yelped and then pinched him.

'Ow! Shit! Okay! We're really here then.' He sighed then continued. 'Given that conclusion, then our being here is obviously tied to what happened in the lab,'

I cut him off, 'You never did tell me what happened!'

'Well, I didn't want you to say I told you so. When your bag burst you water bottle fell and shattered. Water went everywhere; you were standing in a pool of it. It came into contact with the repaired wire and there was a surge of some kind.' He looked up at me then, his blue, blue eyes suddenly piercing. He had never looked at me like that before. 'You...you were being electrocuted. I didn't know what to do. I tried to knock you away and we were suddenly here.'

'You tried to knock me away? Are you crazy? You could have been killed you idiot.' I replied angrily scared that we could have _both_ died because a stupid reusable bottle and electrical tape.

He didn't reply just lay back on the grass.

'Anyway, given that we were mysteriously transported and we were...shocked by an atom compressor, I think one of three things could have occurred. One, we could have been teleported. Two, we've been sent into another dimension or three, we've been sent back in time.'

My first thought was no way! My second was; why the hell were we waiting around when we could be finding out where and when we were?

'Get up, lazybones! Rest time is over! This road has got to lead somewhere!'

I was so busy yanking him to his feet that I didn't see the satisfied smirk that crossed his face.

We had been travelling for about an hour when we came to a small village nestled in the dip between two hills. I was so excited it took all of Sam's persuasion to prevent me from rushing off. Instead we stood at the top of the hill while he squinted down at the place. I was bouncing on the balls of my feet, I was so excited. He literally had a hand circling my arm to keep me in place.

'Come on Sam! We can't stay here forever. The easiest thing to do is ask someone what year this is and where we are. Can we just go already!'

'No and be quiet. If we act like tourists someone is going to kill us, either because it's suspicious or to rob us. We need to have some idea where we are first, and then we'll go down.'

I was about to protest when he added, 'And, we don't even know if they speak English or any language either of us has ever heard of, so no, not yet.'

After that I turned and began to study the village too. Most of what I noticed I had seen before but if he was going to keep me here, I may as well take it all in. The village wasn't very large. The houses were mostly two or three stories tall and they all had chimneys though it wasn't cold. In fact it was kinda warm. I rolled up the sleeves of my shirt and began to fan myself with my hands. The streets were mainly packed dirt but electrical wires ran from poles above the houses. There were no signs of cars and the streets were too narrow to accommodate them anyway. There was writing everywhere but from the distance I couldn't see them clearly much less make out what they said.

'Come on.' He said suddenly releasing my arm. I was off like a runner before he grabbed my hand and held me back...again. I scowled at him.

'We have to go slowly. We don't want to seem to be charging the gates now do we?'

'Fine...killjoy.'

He laughed then. It was a good sound. I didn't know what he found so funny. I always seemed to be a fount of amusement for him and I rarely ever knew why. I mean, sometimes, I would say or do stupid stuff to make him laugh but...well sometimes I wasn't. I wasn't sure what to make of that but I was happy when he was happy. He had a really nice laugh, very masculine and guffaw-ish.

'One last thing Ms History major, does any of this look familiar to you? Have you read about a place like this?'

I thought for a minute, 'I get the feeling that I should know this but I can't seem to place it. It's funny that they have electricity and no cars though. I think we'll know better when we can find out what language they speak. This place has kind of a world war 2 feel to it, you know, like a rural town in a world where technology hasn't quite taken over yet...' I trailed off not quite sure where I was going with this. 'Anyway, I'll have a better idea when we find out about the language. Well, at least I hope so. For all we know this could be an entirely different world or a different timeline even. You ever saw that TV show , Sliders?'

'I don't think so.'

'Never mind then. Let's go already!' I said, suddenly impatient again.

He sighed as I all but towed him to the gates.

A week had passed in this strange place and when I say strange, I mean strange. I was beginning to have a strange and aweful idea about where we were but I simply couldn't bring it to Sam as yet. Even though Sam could fathom, time travel, multiple dimensions and teleportation, I am sure that he would laugh himself sick at what I was thinking. I sighed and put the dishes very gently into the sink. This was not how I imagined travelling to a different dimension would be. We had barely been in town five minutes when my stomach had rumbled piteously. I had been quick to hide it but Sam had heard and had insisted that food places would be a good place to gather information. The problem was, however, that our currency, paper currency at that, was not known or accepted in that village. We were lucky that one of the vendors we had questioned had needed some staff urgently or we would've probably starved to death by now. Sam disagreed. He thought we would have turned thieves by now but I couldn't believe that I would ever do that. The old man who owned the food hut, they sold fried stuff, tempura he called it, had let us have a little room at the back of the stall. It wasn't free by any means, we had to clean up before he got there in the morning but I still think he was very generous. He told us that his last set of staff quit after being threatened by some of the rougher elements in the town. I personally hadn't seen the rougher element but I had been forbidden by Sam to so much as talk to anyone when he wasn't there. It wasn't really a problem, customers wanted their food and usually nothing else and I spent a lot of time washing greasy dishes. It wasn't wasted time by any means. I used it to think and it was during this time that I realised where we were and I also realised that I needed proof because as I said, Sam was never going to believe me.

'Erica, there is a customer at the front!' The old man shouted to me from behind his station at the fryer.

'Hai, Higachi san.' The language was another thing that puzzled me. As far as I knew, they were speaking English but Japanese words would pop out every so often and all the writing was in Japanese. Weird.

'Good day, can I take your...' I froze, I simply froze. My heart beat so fast I almost passed out. No effing way!

The man sitting behind the counter looked beautiful and bored. He had a high blonde ponytail with a long silky sort of bang covering one of his blue eyes. He wasn't wearing his black cloak with the clouds but I knew who he was anyway. I stopped myself from speaking lest something stupid come out. He turned to look at me and then back out unto the street. My thought, Oh My God! He is gorgeous! This was followed by wait, shouldn't he be dead? I shook myself and approached him. I had to be sure that he was who I thought he was and if he was who I thought he was, then, I would finally have my proof.

'Oh hello there sir, what can I get for you today?'

He looked at me and then away to the street. Okay...

'Sir, would you like to order something?'

Apart from a tightening of his lips and an annoyed sort of sneer, he gave no indication that he had even heard me.

'I like your outfit but you know, it would look even nicer on my bedroom floor...' I smiled provocatively at him. He shot me a look of disbelief followed by suspicion.

I was about to say something even more irritating to him when Sam suddenly appeared carrying a large sack of...something. I turned back in time to see the blonde get up and disappear into the alley opposite the stall.

'What are you watching?' Sam asked wiping sweat from his face.

'Deidara of the Akatsuki. Sam, we need to talk.' I turned and handed him a scrap of cloth that used to be my shirt sleeve. He used it to finish wiping his face.

'What about Ric?' he sounded concerned and exhausted.

'I know where we are.'

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And that's the end of chapter 2, folks. Stay tuned for more. I've written the next chapter already but I'm not sure when I'll post it. I want my updates to be regular but I have exams in a week so I want to hoard what I've written so far in case I don't get a chance to write any more for a while. I will post again by Saturday. Thanks again for reading. Byee.


	3. We fight again

**Hello all! I hope you had a great week and that the Christmas season is treating you well. My first exam is Monday and I want to wish all of you with exams now, good luck and good studying. I am posting two chapters tonight and I hope you enjoy them. Thank you to my reviewers EmilyMichele01 and Lala Girl in Lala Land, your reviews mean a lot to me. Conratulations EmilyMichele01 on getting an account, I can't to see what you post and I promise to review. Lala Girl, thanks and sorry but I'm kinda lazy and its just easier to use the single ' rather than the double. Gomen nasai.**

**Anyway, on with the story.**

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Later that evening we sat in the tiny room Higachi san had given us and rested. I tried to tell him what I'd found but there had been an influx of customers and we'd both been busy for a while. Afterwards I was simply too tired to tackle it. Sam groaned and lay back on the small bed. His eyes were closed and I noticed the dark circles under his eyes.

'Does your back hurt, Sam?' I asked quietly in case he had fallen asleep.

'Kind of. I'm just tired.'

'You want me to give you a shoulder rub. I'm very good at it.' I asked preparing to get up if he said yes.

'No thanks Erica, I'm fine. You were going to tell me what you found out.'

'Yeah, well, maybe now isn't the time to do that.' I stifled a yawn. Sam had been doing the gentlemanly thing and had allowed me sole use of the bed even though I had insisted that sharing wasn't a big deal. Anyway, he looked so comfy there. I was sure that the floor wasn't nearly as good, even if the mattress was lumpy.

'I think you're right.' He made a move to get up but I waved him back 'I'm going to the bathroom and then the shower. You can take a nap till I get back, okay?' He nodded and lay back down, turning over to hug the pillow. Aww, he was so cute sometimes. I went outside, determined to let him get some good sleep for once.

I did shower but stayed a long time in the closed back room trying to stay awake. I had gone back inside and found that he had indeed fallen asleep and had managed to occupy the whole bed. I sighed and tried to sleep in the chair. It was an utter fail. A little cranky now, I went into the dark kitchen and lay my head on the table. The next thing I knew it was morning. The door to our room opened with a bang and a squinty, sleepy looking Sam poked his head out.

'Whatchoo doin out here?' He asked rubbing his face.

'Got up early and couldn't go back to sleep. You snore, you know that?' I lied smoothly. He merely nodded. Poor guy didn't know what hit him. With a roaring yawn, he went outside to use the bathroom. Sighing, I began to clean up the kitchen.

It wasn't till the following afternoon that we finally got to talk again. He arrived shortly before we locked up the shop, Higachi san never opened after dark, looking excited and pleased with himself.

'I have some good news. We need to talk. Let me just put these bags away and I'll meet you in the back.'

I nodded and complied. It was my turn to lay down on the bed and look dead-ish.

He came in not long after and put a small bag of money on the bedside table.

'Our salaries.' He said gesturing to it. I was too tired to even look. 'Ric, you said yesterday that you knew where we are?'

'Yeah,' I said sitting up. 'I know but I am 100% sure that you are not going to believe me when I tell you.'

'Try me.' He said folding his arms.

'Okay. There is this show, I used to like to watch, you know, way back when I was in high school.'

'Sliders?'

'No. It was called Naruto. It was, mm well Japanese animation. It was about ninjas and,'

He looked ready to laugh at me and I wasn't even done yet.

'I know it sounds silly but there are ninjas here aren't they?' I rubbed my head trying to get the blood going. 'I think we're in the world of that anime. That guy I was talking to is one of the villains who belong to a group called the Akatsuki. Oh, don't look at me like that, at least I'm not obsessed with that Starcraft game.'

'It's Warcraft actually but you can't be serious. That's fiction and this is real. Maybe this person just looks like that Deidra guy.'

'It's Deidara actually and I am aware that that's possible. It's why I was trying to get him to talk to me.'

'What does that have to do with anything?'

'He has a speech impediment thing. If he'd opened his mouth I would have known once and for all if it was him. Stupid churlish ninja. And wait, how can you doubt that this is possible. There are freaking ninja running about. I heard Higachi san telling you.'

'Well, they call themselves ninja but they're this world's military. There is actually a ninja village not too far from here.'

I was about to protest having my idea dismissed when the words ninja and village pierced my skull.

'By village, do you mean Konoha?'

For a moment he looked surprised but brushed it off.

'Yeah, how did you know?'

'Well that's where the main character is from. His name is Naruto and his teacher is this hot ninja guy named Kakashi. Hmm, I wonder who the Hokage is now. That would give me an idea of when in the timeline we are.'

'Ric, calm down. I am sure that this is just a coincidence. Maybe this dimension or reality is similar to the one in the show but there is no way that it could exist for real and an even less chance that we would just happen to get sent there.'

'I know that I'm right Sam and if we go to Konoha, I can prove it.'

He smiled then. 'Well that brings me to what I wanted to talk about. Since we got here, I've been trying to find information about this world and the physics of it and stuff but this village barely has a school much less a library. Anyway, I was talking to the rice seller and he told me that if I wanted access to a good library, I should go to Konoha. Its apparently not too far from here, maybe two days away if I take it slow. He said there is a fee to use the library and that some documents are restricted but it would be my best bet for reliable info. He also said that I was lucky that I had mentioned it to him today because he's headed out there tonight to deliver rice to some merchants. I'm supposed to meet him at around 8 but,'

'Wait, Sam, you know you can't read Japanese right? And what do you mean I'm supposed to meet him around 8? Don't you mean we, we're supposed to meet him around 8?'

'Well no, I'm sorry but Ichiku san said that the trip can be dangerous. Given the proximity to Konoha, they don't usually have a problem but bandits are not unheard of. Plus I don't want to impose on him any more than I have to.'

'So...you're leaving me here, alone? By myself?'

'That's kinda what alone means Ric and no you won't be alone. You'll be safe here in the shop where I don't have to worry about you doing anything reckless or stupid.'

For a moment I was speechless. Me, reckless? I was not reckless the stupid ...idiot! And as for stupid, I was not the one in denial about which reality we were in. I huffed feeling immediately pissed off.

'You are not leaving me here. I'm coming with you whether you like it or not.'

He sat up and stretched.

'I'm sorry but you can't go. Once I have a feel for the area and Konoha, I can take you another time. For now, I want you to stay here.'

'Is this because we need the money?'

He stopped in his reach for the money pouch. 'In a way.' He grabbed the bag and put it into his pants pocket.

'What are you doing with that? That's half mine you know!' I yelled.

'I do know but I need it to pay for access to the library so I can get us both home, okay?' he retorted.

'I don't care! I want to come with you! You are not leaving me here by myself Sam.' I felt my eyes begin to prickle.

'He picked up a sack that stood right outside the back door and dropped the money bag into it.

'I'm sorry Erica but I really need to do this.'

I felt the first tear fall and roll down my cheek. I was suddenly very tired. I turned away from him and lay down on the bed, my face buried in the pillow.

He hadn't left yet but at that moment, I wanted him gone more than anything else.

'Just go ahead Sam,' I said my words coming out muffled and stiff. 'Go ahead. I don't care, just go away.'

'I'm not leaving you forever Erica. I'm going there to use their library and I'll be back in about a week, max. There's no need to get emotional about it.'

'I hate you. Go away.' I said, refusing to look at him.

I heard him take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then he was gone and the door slammed shut behind him. I lay there feeling sick and tired and guilty. I just wanted to die and disappear so I didn't have to face him again. I knew I was being hurtful when I said I hated him but he made me so mad...still that didn't mean I had to be childish about it. I jumped up suddenly, intent on finding him and apologising but as I searched for my shoes I felt a presence behind me. I was knocked out before I could even turn around.

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**Almost forget, I do not own Naruto although if Kishimoto san decided to give it to me, I would not say no...did that sound kinda perverted? Nah, just me I guess.**


	4. An Akatsuki and a lie

**Hello, this is the second chapter I promised. I'm sorry if things seem slow but poor Erica and Sam are kinda pathetic in the fighting department, well, physically at least. That will change, I promise but till then...Please let me know what you think about the story. All reviews are welcome, even the flames. **

**Right, for the disclaimer I thought I would try to get one of my wonderful characters to do it...Sam? Erica? Take the stage.**

**... *crickets chirping*...**

**Right, I forgot. One is on the way to Konoha and the other...well, you'll see. Fine, I don't own any of the Naruto characters, just the ones I created.**

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An Akatsuki and a lie.

I opened my eyes to find myself sitting in what could have been a warehouse or something. There were weeds growing in the cracked wooden floor and a large part of the roof was missing. I felt better for the impromptu rest but my body was stiff. I was also tied up with my hands bound in front of me. The ropes weren't uncomfortably tight but at the same time, I couldn't wiggle them off.

'No use trying to get out of those, un. They're chakra coated.'

I looked up to see Deidara sitting comfortably on an exposed beam, his face partially in shadow.

'Uh, ok.' I replied. I shook my head. Surely, surely this wasn't actually happening. I had lied to Sam when I had said that I had liked Naruto in High School. I was in my second year of college and I was still obsessed with the show. I kept it a secret though, sure that none of my friends would understand why I thought anime characters were hotter than the guys I dated. As such, I was very familiar with the clichéd Mary Sue meets the Akatsuki stories. I groaned. My god, I was a freaking Mary Sue.

All the while the man had been watching me have a mental wrestling match. When he decided that I wasn't coming back to reality soon he jumped down and put his face right up in front of mine.

'You done being crazy yet?'

Psycho bomber say what? I thought crazily but replied yes with a simple nod. His face was inches from mine and he looked every bit as nuts as when he fought the Kazekage in Shippuuden. That got me wondering if that had happened as yet. I glanced at his arm and noticed a fine trace of stitching slightly below the shoulder. Okay, so he had fought Kakashi already, Go mangekyo!

He snapped his fingers in front of my face.

'Sorry .'I said meekly, 'You said something?'

Idly he took out a kunai and began to spin it on his finger. I saw the light catch and glint off the blade. He had my full attention, just as he intended. I realised, then, just how quiet the place was. I could hear the wind rushing through the brush and the whizzing kind of sound the blade made but all else was quiet. Well, except for my breathing which seemed very fast and loud to my ears.

'I asked you, how you knew what my name was, yeah.'

'Oh right,' Okay brain, it's time to do what you do so well, 'I heard about you from a friend. You're supposed to be dead by the way.'

He frowned. 'What's this friends name and how does he know about me, un?'

'He's a ninja. He heard about your fight that guy from Konoha, his name starts with a K, or something. Anyway, it was supposed to be a hell of a fight but you died so I wasn't sure it was you but I guess it is.'

'What's your friend's name, un?' He was suddenly up close with the kunai pointing very to the tip of my nose. He had moved so quickly, I hadn't even seen it. My heart was practically humming in my chest. That couldn't be healthy.

'Jiraiya, the sannin. He passes into the shop every so often and I get good stories from him.

'Liar.' He said quietly. I felt a sudden burning on my cheek and felt something hot and wet slide down my chin and fall unto my chest. 'Tell me again, un. Where did you hear about me?'

The cut had started to burn badly and I was disgusted to find that I could taste blood in my mouth. Ick.

'I told you I heard it from the sannin. Tall, really tall, white haired guy. He has strange red teardrop things under his eyes and a mole on his face. Oh and he wears really stupid looking sandals.'

'I know for a fact that you have not been working for Higachi for long, yeah. So tell me, are you a spy for the Leaf Village?'

The kunai which was coated in my blood was held loosely in his right hand. I gulped loudly.

'I'm not a ninja.'

'I know that, yeah but you do have chakra and you know far too much to be a civilian. So tell me where you know me from,un.'

'I have chakra? That is so cool. I wonder why no one told me before. Wow, I could totally be a ninja now.' For a moment, I simply forgot everything except being happy that I was special.

He let me be an idiot for a few seconds before smacking me on the same cheek he had cut. That sonovabitch, was all I could think.

'Geez, sorry. I didn't know that. Forgive a girl for getting excited.' I said when I could finally speak again.

'Hn. Just talk before I kill you, yeah.'

I looked up at him as he stood up and stepped back. Wow, I thought to myself, he was really bad at interrogation. Shouldn't I more terrified by now? My cheek hurt and yeah, him getting all up in my face wasn't very nice but he just wasn't intimidating. Maybe he needed his bombs to be scary. Whatever the reason, I wasn't really afraid of him.

'I'm sorry Deidara san, that I lied but I'm not a spy. I do know the sannin though. We're,' I looked away as though embarrassed (I should totally get an academy award for this) 'friends. I'm usually not in any one place for too long. Sam, the guy I was with, likes to travel. When we cross paths, I like to talk to him. He usually has stuff to send back to Konoha and if we're going that way, we drop it off. Well Sam drops it off, anyway. He doesn't like ninjas and he seems to think I have a thing for them, you know.'

Deidara looked mildly grossed out by the whole me and Jiraiya 'friends thing' but decided not to comment on that. Instead,

'So, how does Jiraiya know about the Akatsuki? And how does he know I'm supposed to be dead un? That happened less than a month ago.'

'Idk man. Uh, I mean, I don't know. He must have heard it in the village or something. Konoha is only a couple of days from here after all.'

'You're lying again.' I felt my other cheek burn and I yelped and pulled back. There was now a torrent of blood in my mouth and I turned to the side to spit it out. It hurt terribly. I tried to talk but it hurt so much that I closed my eyes against the tears. It was like the feeling of biting your cheek times a million. He seemed to realise that what he had done was counter-productive. The next thing I knew he was smearing a thick, stinging lotion over my cheeks. I can't explain the sensation except to say that it felt as though the cream was seaming my flesh together.

'Thanks.' I said moving my slightly numb mouth.

If I had had any doubt before, I was sure now. Torture and interrogation were things that Deidara was not good at. If it was a class in school, he would be failing it because I was pretty sure that healing your torturee would be against the rules. It did make me think better of him though. It made me want to tell him the truth...ok maybe he wouldn't be failing the class after all.

He sighed and tugged his fingers through his hair then pulled out the ponytail elastic that held his hair up. I almost drooled. I finally understood why he put his hair up. With it down he was even more mouth watering but more girly looking too. The hair softened his jaw line and hid the masculinity of his cheekbones making his face softer and rounder. Wow. He caught me staring and smirked.

'What? Like what you see, un?'

'You have gorgeous hair. I wish my hair would stay all silky and straight like that. Do you flatiron it?'

'What?'

'Never mind.'

He stooped down across from me, farther away than before and shook out his hair massaging his scalp. I could see the muscles in his chest flex and contract. Darn, the bastard was doing this on purpose. I began to recite in my head: This man just hurt you, he's a murderer and crazy and this is a ploy to get you to talk. Do not give in to his delicious smexyness.

'Listen kid (kid?), I don't really care how you know, yeah? I really just have to kill you and problem solved. I'll let you in on a secret, yeah. I don't give a shit about the Akatsuki. They could rot for all I care. I do, however care about defeating a certain someone so until that time comes...'

'You'll just amuse yourself by blowing shit up?'

'Uh, yeah. But now you gotta die.'

He was suddenly up close to me again. He had me on my feet with my back pressed to the wall and my shoulder pressed hard by his right hand. In his left hand I beheld The Kunai. I was squirming furiously but I wasn't getting anywhere. I tried to kick him but he was too close. Holy shit, I thought to myself. I was going to die.

'I'll make this quick un. It's a shame you couldn't have gone out in a bang. That would have been much quicker and more exciting, yeah?'

'Please, please don't kill me. I...I know stuff that could help you with your revenge.'

I hadn't really been thinking all that clearly but I could see that I had his attention.

'You're right, I am a spy. Not a spy really, just an informant. My friend and I do travel a lot. We work in different towns and collect stories and gossip and stuff. Sam doesn't know I do this but if I hear something particularly valuable, I send word via pigeon to Konoha or if I have the slightest clue where Jiraiya is, I send it to him.' I could see him getting bored. 'Anyway, one time I was meeting with Jiraiya for some drinks when this raven or crow maybe, came up to him at the bar. He stared at the bird for a while and then excused himself saying that he had to use the restroom. I don't know why I did it but I followed him. He travelled out to the edge of the forest and there he met with someone who I would never have dreamed of seeing.'

'Get to the point, yeah.' He said sounding more interested than he wanted to appear.

'The point? Haven't you ever wondered how Konoha is so well informed about the Akatsuki? How they seem to know more about you than they should?'

'Hn.'

'Its because they have a spy, Deidara, a spy who reports from within the Akatsuki organisation itself.'

'Who?'

'Itachi Uchiha.'

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Please review, if you don't review I won't know what I'm doing right or wrong. Byee!


	5. To Konoha?

**Hi all! I hope everyone had a wonderful week. Me? I had two exams and am looking forward *note sarcasm* to three more. I am dying of joy. Anyway, here is another chapter. I hope you enjoy it. **

**One Warning, this chapter has some adult themes; nothing explicit and some bad language. I hope it doesn't offend anyone...**

**Special Thanks to my wonderful, very consistent reviewer EmilyMichele01 who encourages me with her sheer awesomeness.**

**Anyways, on with the story!**

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Sam had been halfway to Konoha when he realised that he couldn't do it. She was right. He couldn't leave her behind like that. The moment he stepped out the door he felt a weight settle in his chest and it got heavier the farther he moved away. He remembered the tears running down her face. He knew she didn't mean it when she said she hated him, she got mad a said things she regretted almost instantly. He didn't blame her for that, but dammit, he was only trying to do what was best for them. He didn't _want_ to leave her but he was sure that if there was danger to be found on that supposedly safe road then she would undoubtedly find it.

He ran some of the way back, surprised that he had the stamina for it. He wasn't a very active person but a week's worth of hard labour was already improving that. He got back to the store the next morning just as the sun was rising. Higachi san was already hard at work turning vegetables into cholesterol, looking just as surly as Sam remembered.

'Well it's about time you showed up? Where's Erica? I thought you said she wasn't going with you?' Higachi said

'She didn't go with me. She's supposed to be here. She's not here?' Sam's face darkened.

'No, came in this morning to find the door open and the two of you gone. I figured you two took off together, wouldn't be the first time the help up and left without notice.'

When Higachi looked up again he realised that he was talking to himself. Sam had left the talking man and went to their room at the back of the shop. It was just as he left it. He found her shoes kicked off into a corner under the bed and he felt himself start to shake. None of their meagre possessions were missing so robbery was out. He stood up, fists clenched and head bowed. It was as though a shadow had covered him as guilt washed over him in waves. He ignored Higachi's questions and went straight out into the street. She had been missing for about 12 hours. He needed to find her and he needed to find her fast.

Deidara stood and waited as the girl huffed and puffed to catch up with him. Her feet were bare and she was she was sweating profusely. She didn't smell too good either but since he wouldn't let her return for her shoes or to take a shower, he had only himself to blame. She took the time to bend over, taking deep breaths with a hand clutching her side.

'I need to stop. Please. I can't go on for much longer.' She huffed some more before falling to her knees.

'Get up, yeah, we need to keep going.'

'Why? Where are we going?'

He gave her a look that was intended to frighten her into silence. It didn't work. She merely waved it away.

'Hold your panties on,' she said illogically, 'Isn't there a better way to do this? Can't we like teleport or fly or ninja jump or something?'

'Ninja jump?' he asked.

'You know what I mean, like whoosh, jumping through the trees.'

'You can't walk much less jump from tree to tree, yeah.'

'You could carry me.'

'No.'

She sighed and flopped over till she was lying half on the grass and half on the road. She was even dirtier now. He shook his head. Maybe he should just kill her and be done with it.

'What about your clay birdie thing? Can't we ride that?'

'No. I'm out of clay, yeah.'

'Well buy more and while you're at it I really need a pair of sandals or something, please...'

She looked up at him with wide hazel eyes. She was so annoying, he thought.

'Come on. I have to be in the next village by nightfall.'

Pushing herself laboriously to her feet, she took a deep breath and began to walk again.

He tried to figure out how he had gone from fixing a simple problem to chatting with a grubby hostage on his way back to Ame. Damn Tobi, he thought yet again. When he saw the man again, and he had clay, kunai or even a freaking rock, he was going to torture and kill the bastard. He smiled in anticipated satisfaction and the girl gave him a concerned look. Oh great, _now_, he managed to scare her. He recalled his earlier failure at interrogation and resisted the urge to pull his hair.

He had never been good at intimidation. Sure plenty people had told him he was fucking nuts but it just didn't seem translate into the kind of fear needed to make someone talk. Whereas the Uchiha could smile, not that he ever did, and people fell over themselves to answer his questions. To fail at questioning a civilian girl, however, was beyond tolerance.

How the hell had he gotten here? It really was all Tobi's fault. They had been on their way back from a short mission in wind country when Tobi had gotten word of a solo mission he had to complete in Earth Country before heading back. He had left in the middle of the night during his watch with all of the money they had. That included Deidara's personal cash as well. He clenched his fist and mentally promised to castrate the little shit when they next met. It was because of Tobi's theft that he had had to take that mission in Shiza and had consequently come into contact with this idiot. He looked up at said idiot just as she bent over to pull a bur off the hem of her pants. Hmmm...She saw him staring and waved at him merrily from her bent over position. Still an idiot, he thought but smiled unconsciously all the same.

They were still miles away from their destination when she simply collapsed. One minute she was upright and walking, the next she was face down on the road. He sighed at the increased aggravation. He did a mental calculation of how long it would take to get to Himitsu, the only town thereabout, and decided that maybe a break wasn't such a bad idea. If he was honest, he would admit that he hated walking, hell, he hated being on the ground. He preferred to be up in the air where everything was clean, fresh and uncomplicated; People were specks who were easily and cleanly eliminated without so much as a trace that they had ever existed. In the air, he was a god raining destruction unto the world, untouched and untouchable.

He nudged the girl with his toe.

'Get up.'

'Five more minutes...'

'Now.'

'I hate you.'

'It's mutual, yeah.'

She sighed before rolling over and looking up at him.

'Deidara, I have a suggestion. I know that you have no reason to listen to me but if you do what I suggest we can slow the fuck down and you can get your clay or whatever the hell you want. If you don't like the idea you can always kill me, I'm tired enough that I don't care anymore. Do I have your attention?'

He simply nodded.

Sam was tired and frustrated by the time he got back to Higachi's place. What he had found had been a case of good news and bad news. The good news was that Erica hadn't been..._absorbed_ into any of the many brothels that operated out of the village. It had shocked him to find out that, not only was prostitution legal in Fire Country (where they were apparently), villages had sprung up as so called entertainment areas where every vice could be indulged. Because of the revenue these village produced for the daimyo they were left untouched and unobstructed in their trade.

Shiza was one such village with brothels and drinking dens being the most prevalent businesses in the area. Those who were not owners, were investors or catered to the other needs of patrons. It was also a hub for erotica and other related shops. While the place wasn't lawless, it wasn't unheard of for unsupervised women to be accosted by drunk customers or to simply disappear. He had found it impossible to explain any of this to Erica and had resorted to the heavy handed 'Don't go anywhere' approach. She had not been happy. Fortunately, she was not in Shiza somewhere; unfortunately she wasn't in Shiza at all.

He had spoken to Maki, the owner of one of the few regular hotels and he had admitted to housing a young blonde haired man who had left sometime the night before. The man had declined to give his name (but that was common here he'd said) but his description matched that of the Deidara person Erica had mentioned. He had then gone to the Barrio where the village 'Headman' lived.

The headman, part businessman/part crook, denied having any knowledge of a Deidara of the Akatsuki. Sam knew he was lying, the man was said to know every time someone sneezed or a coin dropped in the village. The man had made it clear that further questions were unwelcome and had his henchmen (the best word in this case) toss him out bodily. Sitting on the curb he had realised that he had only one option. He knew that more than likely Erica had been taken by that Deidara person who belonged to an organisation that no one seemed to know about but even the Headman hadn't dare acknowledge. Her abduction was likely due to her knowledge, though how the blonde had found out was beyond him. He also knew that he was not capable of tracking them down or rescuing her even if he could find them. It was ironic really, he thought, his only option was to go straight back the way he had come. He had to go to Konoha.


	6. I meet Pain, sort of

**Hello everyone! I am so sorry for not posting as usual last week. Things have been hectic with the christmas season and exams. I want to specially thank icyprincess1 who took the time to review my story. Thanks again. Also big thanks to Rena whom I can't remember thanking for her review last time and to midnight star237 for the favourite story. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. **

**Pretty please review, authors, even fanfiction writers love and need them.**

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I sat quietly as Deidara contacted Pein with his magic ring. I was so tired my internal organs ached although that could be because of all the chakra I had expended. I smiled again. _I had chakra. Yay! _

I had been so bored just walking that I had started to think about my new found awesome chakra and all the wonderful things I could do with it. I tried gathering it in my palm like Naruto did for the rasengan but nothing happened. Well, my hand did start to tingle a little but no blue energy or anything. After walking for about three hours my legs had started to hurt like hell. All I could think about was how my muscles burned and the worrisome numbness on the bottom of my feet. I begged Deidara but the bastard did not stop. I was wishing I could do the tree jump thing when I decided to try channelling chakra to my legs. At first nothing happened, really nothing this time but then the tingling started and intensified till I was sure that something was wrong but just when I was about to stop...pushing(?), the sensation stopped and my legs felt better and stronger. I was able to keep walking. I felt so much better that I began to enjoy the walking and the wind, ok, not really all that much but I wasn't dying either so...

Anyway, it required focus at first. I needed to keep the sensation of tingliness in mind and the image of blue chakras running through my. After a while it was easier. It became a part of every step.

I was beginning to get tired again when I suddenly collapsed. It took me several moments to reconcile with the fact that I had gone from vertical to horizontal with no intention of doing so. Nothing could have gotten me up at that moment.

I sighed and rolled over. Looking at Deidara, I hoped that 'communicating with Pein sama' took at least another hour. I really needed a nap.

'Got him, yeah.' Fuck, I thought.

It was weird to see Deidara sitting and talking to himself (_apparently at least_). He apologised for not being back on time and went on to explain that, with a lot of f-words and death threats, Tobi had taken off with all their money and most of his supplies. The next part had to do with meeting me at the stand and hearing me mention his name and the Akatsuki (_damn ninja hearing_). He then went on to explain my abduction and interrogation and all the interesting information I had provided. It was weird to hear my lie recounted to someone else with me sitting right there. For one absolutely insane moment I wanted to tell the truth and beg them to let me go. Fortunately I caught my tongue before I killed myself with it.

'Leader wants to talk to you, un' he said grabbing my arm.

I was suddenly looking up at Pein as he stood in a large room. Outside a nearby window, rain poured in steady sheets completely obscuring the world outside. _Hmm, he must be in Amegakure._

'What is her name Deidara?'

'Uhhh...'

'Hi, my name's Erica Savatananda but you can call me Erica. People have lost tongues trying to pronounce my last name. It's nice to meet you.' _Well no harm in being polite, right?_

'You are not a ninja?'

'Nope. I am not nor have I never been a non ninja.' _Heh heh._

'What the hell does that mean, un?'

'Sorry, I tend to get a little silly when I don't eat, or sleep for that matter.' I looked at him pointedly

'Whatever, yeah.'

'Girl,' Pein intoned in his very, very deep voice. 'be quiet. Deidara... Kakuzu and Hidan are nearby. You will meet them in Mikan. Be there by sundown. We have no reason to believe her as yet but until her claims can be substantiated I will order the Uchiha to return to base. I want you here by the end of the week.' he turned to face me 'I want her here alive and able to speak, all else is left to your discretion. You are dismissed.'

We were suddenly in the little clearing again. I sighed, in other words, if I made a nuisance of myself he can hurt me but not kill me or endanger my ability to speak. Oh goody. I tried to remember why I thought the Akatsuki were so cool and badass but right then I was just too tired. I guess them blowing things up and threatening people were cool as long as it wasn't me on the receiving end.

'Get up, we need to get to the next village by nightfall, yeah.'

'Fine.' I muttered. I barely managed to get to my feet when I collapsed again.

'What have you been doing, yeah?'

'I used chakra to keep walking but now I feel all melty inside. I can't walk.'

'That's not possible. Yesterday you didn't even know you had chakra, now get up.'

'Can't. Sorry.'

I must have been falling asleep when I felt myself lifted and hoisted unto a surprisingly broad shoulder. The change in blood flow was not pleasant but I was too exhausted to care. I smiled when I heard him mutter

'You still smell but if I don't get to Mikan I can't get my clay, yeah.'

After that, I lost consciousness or simply fell asleep.


	7. An Inn and the Unexpected

**Why hello again, bet you didn't expect to see another chapter up so soon but...Surprise! Merry Christmas! Its a short chapter but a nescessary one. I hope you guys enjoy it.**

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I woke to the smell of warm linen. It was late afternoon and I was alone. I was still grubby but my dirty socks were off and on the floor. My poor socks, they had gone from pink and stripy to a muddy brackish brown. I stretched and caught a whiff of underarm. First things first, I needed a shower.

I sat up gingerly. My muscles ached but the melty feeling in my chest seemed almost gone. I was hungry though. My stomach was usually very good about not eating but right then it was a boiling, rumbling mass of discontent. Looking away from the window I caught sight of a note on the bedside table and next to it a leaf wrapped package. Ignoring the note, I still didn't speak Japanese, I opened the wrapping and found two sticks of skewered meat. The leaves had done a good job of containing the smell but when I opened it I was overwhelmed by smell of spices and meat. I gobbled it down even as the spices made my eyes water.

When I was done, I licked the leaves clean and went into the bathroom for some water. The room was small but clean and the bathroom had soap, shampoo and towels aplenty. I made use of all of these before finger-washing my teeth with some complimentary toothpaste. I had to put on the clothes I had arrived in but I _felt_ cleaner.

I put everything in their places and had just closed the medicine cabinet above the sink when I noticed something. I watched as my hazel eyes widened and tear up. On my cheeks, each of them, was a thin white scar. The one on the left being thicker and somewhat longer. I stared for a while, turning from side to side. I started to cry. It suddenly seemed so unfair, all of it. I knew I was being vain and silly but I felt disfigured. I stumbled to the bathtub and sat down on the edge feeling the water soak my jeans.

When the tears stopped I felt much better. I hoped to god I wasn't pmsing ... though it was about the right time for it... _Oh great, another thing to worry about_. Combing my fingers through my hair I forced myself to calm down and think of other things, anything. _I was still pretty, I guess_. I decided finally. I had very pretty hazel eyes and my hair was very long (almost to my butt now) and a nice dark brown. Thanks to my Grandfather, I would never have to tan though I wasn't very dark either. _And who knows, the scars could fade in time, maybe a little as a year if I was lucky_. I passed a hand over my cheeks feeling the lines that seemed smaller already. I tried to smile and found that I could. _Things aren't so bad, I'll probably lose a ton of weight with all the walking and not eating and stuff. Things could be much, much worse. _

Speaking of which...

The sun had gone down while I was having my little breakdown. I checked the door first and then the windows. They weren't locked but they wouldn't open either. I tried pushing, pulling and prying but they wouldn't budge. The words chakra sealed came to mind and I wondered at the physics of it. How was it possible? Magnetism? Subatomic forces? I suddenly missed Sam very much. I mean, he might have gotten so caught up in figuring it out that he forgot about escaping but he would have been good company at least. I smiled at that, then frowned. I wondered where he was in that moment. Was he in Konoha as yet? I wondered what he would think when he discovered that I was gone. Would he worry about me? On one hand I wanted someone to help me out of this very untenable situation, on the other hand I didn't want Sam to be in danger. Rubbing my face I looked out the window at the well lit village outside. It was smaller than the one I had been living in but there were a lot more families and children. For the first time ever, I realised how strange that village had been. It seemed to have been populated mainly by men, food stands and lots of book and specialty stores. Huh...

I was contemplating this when I heard the doorknob rattle followed a second later by the door opening. When I saw who it was I almost fell over. There was no freaking way this was happening. What the hell was Jiraiya doing here?

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**Ooooh...my first cliffie. I know, I'm excited too. I hope you guys enjoy it, next chapter will be out tomorrow night once I'm still sober so you all can find out what happens...Please Review.**


	8. Just one of those days

**Hi all, firstly, I would like to thank those extra amazing people who reviewed – icyprincess1 who reviewed both chapters and poshperson who reviewed and favourited my story.**

**I hope you enjoy the chapter, it's on the long side. Please review, remember, reviews equal love and who doesn't want to feel appreciated? **

_I was contemplating this when I heard the doorknob rattle followed a second later by the door opening. When I saw who it was I almost fell over. There was no freaking way this was happening. What the hell was Jiraiya doing here?_

'Why hello there...who are you beautiful?'

'...'

'You wouldn't have seen a blonde guy who looks kind of like a girl around here have you?'

'Yeah, he went out a while ago, haven't seen him since. He locked me in so I couldn't get out...what the hell are you doing?'

'Searching his personal possessions, it's not often that one encounters an Akatsuki out and alone by himself.' He glanced up from rummaging through Deidara's pack 'Don't worry, I'll rescue you from him in a moment and then maybe you can I can go have a drink and...get to know each other.'

'Just hurry up and search his stuff. He's supposed to be meeting two more Akatsuki somewhere in the village...'

'I know, I have someone keeping an eye on them.' He smiled then and far from being creepy, it was almost reassuring.

I was having a moment of surrealism so strong I wondered if I was still asleep. He did a thorough search of the place but was finished in less than 5mins. Those were the longest five minutes of my life. He held the door open for me as we left, closing the door behind us. We had just rounded the corner when I heard footsteps coming from the hall we had just left. I glanced up at him. He smiled and put a finger to his lips. We reached the end of the hall which was...a dead end? I was about to have a freakout when I turned and saw Deidara round the corner and see us. I moved closer to the huge man.

'You took too long.' I muttered taking in the pouches strapped to Deidara's waist. 'He is going to blow us up.'

Deidara smirked and stuck his hand into his pouch. Everything seemed to slow down and I saw it all frame by frame. Deidara was smiling his psycho smile, he said something challenging to the Sannin. A large number of kunai flew towards the blonde who released a number of clay spiders who swarmed the hallway. Using this as a distraction he ran towards us by running sideways and up unto the ceiling while the spiders scurried towards us. Another set of kunai flew towards Deidara with some embedding in the ceiling near where he squatted. There was a rude comment about the Sannins age and eyesight when I noticed one of the kunai that had missed completely had embedded in the far wall. I saw the tags attached to them flare and quickly burn down. Deidara made the hand sign for katsu and everything went boom.

I felt hot air wash over me but when I opened my eyes I was standing in a grassy field and all was quiet. I coughed.

'Are you okay, girl?'

I looked up at the extremely tall man (was there a height limit to be a ninja or something?). Glancing down, I realised that I was covered in soot.

'What the hell happened back there? How did you lose track of him? He could have killed us!'

'Calm down, geez, I told you I knew where he was the whole time. So what were you doing there anyway?'

'What was I doing there? What were you doing there? I was kidnapped, what the hell was your excuse?' I was kidnapped and re-kidnapped (?) in less than 24 hours. My equilibrium was shot.

'I recognised that Akatsuki when he came into the village. It's very unusual to see a member alone. I thought it was a good opportunity to see what information I could find.'

That was one hell of a coincidence. He looked so serious and apart from his initial statement, he hadn't hit on me or anything. I relaxed slightly.

'What were you doing here anyway?'

'I was doing research for one of my books.'

Before I could stop myself I asked, 'There are hot springs here?'

I covered my mouth expecting some question or accusation but all I saw was a flicker of confusion.

'No, why do you ask?'

I began to have a bad feeling but I tried to keep my face neutral.

'So, girl, who are you and what were you doing with that missing nin?'

'Jiraiya, I'm hurt, we've known each other for ages.' I said with a smile hoping I was right and wrong at the same time.

'I don't know you, girl now tell me who you are?' His eyes glinted in the light from the moon. His voice was harsh.

I was wondering if I was actually wrong when I heard a voice speak behind me.

'Dumb fucking idea, if you ask me. It'll never fucking work, you think she'd fall for that? She's fucking him isn't she?' I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I started to shake.

'Well, if you announce the plan before it can work, then it will fail, yeah.'

I turned back to see Deidara standing where Jiraiya had just been. Too strange to be real was right. I felt myself get angry. Taking deep breaths I focused on not saying anything bad.

'Fuck you, you pansy ass piece of shit. How the fuck can you not know if she was telling the truth?'

'I fucking told you, I just wanted to be sure!'

I clenched my hands.

'Hey slut, how could you fuck an old guy like that anyway? What happen? Daddy didn't love you enough?' His voice was very close behind me and I had had enough.

'Yeah, that's it. He was always too busy fucking your mother.'

There was moment of silence before Deidara exploded in laughter and Hidan exploded in rage.

' What the fuck..'

Turning for the first time I saw an annoyed looking Kakuzu holding Hidan who was fighting to bring his scythe down on my head. I glanced back and saw Deidara literally rotfloling_...and he wondered why no one respected him?_

'I'm going to kill you slow.' Hidan spat at me, drawing my attention back to him. I was cold with anger, not usually a good place for me to be.

I think you should know something about me before I continue. I would never describe myself as 'having a temper'. I am slow to anger and I don't hold grudges. I am usually willing to forgive and give people second chances, too. Most people thought I was quite a softy...however, a funny thing happened sometimes. When I was pushed and pushed and pushed and I didn't have time to recover properly each time, it sort of built up. There always came a point when I knew that one more little thing would send me over the edge and I would, I am sure Deidara would approve, explode. I was at that point now and I couldn't seem to calm down. One more thing...just one more...

'Let me the fuck go, you faggot! I'm going to kill that fat bitch!'

'What the fuck did you just say to me you masochistic piece of shit?' I stomped forward till I was almost nose to nose with him. Kakuzu gave me a look that said that I was the dumbest thing in creation but kept him still anyway. Hidan's eyes widened before narrowing dangerously. I had just made a mortal enemy. Right then, I didn't care.

My blood was rushing to my head making whoosh noises in my ear.

'What the fuck did you just say to me?' he asked ominously

'I was saying that you should shut the fuck up you masochistic piece of shit. What? hair gel get in your ears? Or has touching yourself finally made you go deaf?'

Deidara was still laughing when Kakuzu either let go or lost control of him. He charged me knocking me to the ground. He was really heavy. In seconds he had pinned my legs with his and delivered a stinging slap to my face. I yelped and he grinned from ear to ear. I could see it in his eyes, he was excellent at torture and interrogation and he wasn't going to take it nice and slow with me. I was lucky that I was still pissed off. I barely felt the hit and my blood was boiling for retribution. In a rush, I sent chakra rushing throughout my body. He held my hands in one of his and pulled a kunai. I saw my chance. I pulled my hands from his and pushed him away. As he fell backward in shock, I jumped up and fired a single devastating kick at a now exposed region. I can only credit shock for his reaction. He didn't block. I must have imagined Kakuzu wincing. The next thing I knew, Deidara was holding on to me laughing with tears running down his face. I pushed him away before wrapping hands around myself and starting to cry. He laughed harder.

'This is fucking priceless. Hidan,' he nudged the groaning man with his sandal. 'kicked him in the...the nuts...and she, SHE starts to cry.' He was suddenly on the ground laughing again.

What the hell was wrong with these people? I thought. I was threatened, attacked and insulted and he was _laughing_ at me? I cried harder before stopping suddenly. Holy shit! I was totally pms-ing. I looked up when Kakuzu spoke,

'I hope it was worth it, girl. Hidan is insane and he has all the time in the world to plan his revenge. You better hope someone kills him before you outlive your usefulness, otherwise I wouldn't give a cent for your ass when he's done with it.' With that, he turned and walked away from the undignified scene.

'Holy shit.' I looked down at the slowly recovering immortal and a recumbent Deidara. I was so totally screwed.

**Okay, that the end of this chapter. I have a little addition, not sure if anyone is interested but I thought it would be a cool little thing to do. I have to introduce a character as part of the story and I thought it would be cool to have my readers nominate an OC to fill the role. There are a few limitations but if anyone is interested in nominating an OC, send the following info to me and I will announce the Chosen next Tuesday and the character should be appearing a few chapters (between 2-5) from now.**

**The character can be male or female. They must possess incredible amounts of chakra and be a missing nin. Their past should be tragic but they should be a good person overall. They should not be invincible or all powerful. Please include a brief description and biography, if possible, and a description of their abilities. I may have to edit it to fit the story but I promise not to edit them beyond recognition. This is a serious offer. If you are interested send the info via the review thing. **


	9. Flying and New Friends

I was very lucky that we left before Hidan had fully recovered. Deidara was far more friendly towards me since the incident. He didn't seem to care that Hidan was going to kill me for that 'hilarious shit'. I think he hated Hidan and was glad for some humiliation and retribution. He chattered to me as we walked away under the full moon. He told me that they had a mission to return to and that it was several villages away. He had a good long laugh over that. I myself was more worried than triumphant. More than anything else, I needed to escape and make my way to safety till Shikamaru killed the bastard because I got the feeling that Hidan wasn't against killing me if he could get away with it. I glanced over to see Deidara walking, while looking up at the stars, his face bathed in moonlight. It was a romantic sight. He still wasn't wearing his cloak and his skin looked as pale as the moon beneath his mesh shirt. I was suddenly reminded just how young Deidara really was. We were about the same age. Remembering him rolling on the ground laughing, I guessed maybe I was more mature though but then again ...ok, maybe not more mature. I smiled.

'Stop yeah. We're far enough from the village, un.' He stuck his hand in his clay pouch and pulled it out to reveal his hand-mouth chewing. For a split second, I wondered if he was planning to blow me up after all but when he released his creation, it grew and became a creature that looked sort of dragon-ish. Before I could protest, he grabbed me around the waist and hoisted me unto it. I got no warning as the thing flapped its wings and ascended and I was pressed down by the force and speed of the ascent. I fell to my knees and placed my hands at my sides, palms flat, balancing myself as best I could. He was standing with his arms out as the wind tugged his hair back. The moon was off to the left of his head and he looked like a gorgeous golden god in black fishnet and capris. The bird took a hard left and I was pitched roughly to the side. I felt my body leave the clay and I squealed in alarm. I rolled and saw the ground below me. Just as I was about to go over the edge, I felt a very strong arm grab me. I was pulled hard against Deidara's side with his arm around my waist. I was breathing hard from the shock but I could feel my face heat at his proximity. He bent low, and put his lips against my ear,

'Don't get any ideas, yeah, I can't have you falling off now can I?'

His breath was hot with a hint of some kind of sweet liquor. He was grinning as he turned away. The dragon thing dived sharply and I wrapped my arms around him, pressing myself closer. The bastard was laughing, I could feel his chest vibrate, but I was too scared to speak. I had a feeling that this was going to be the worst flight of my life.

Sam made it to Konoha in two days flat. He had travelled without rest and almost no food and water. The gates of the hidden village loomed ahead of him but when he reached within twenty feet of it, he suddenly collapsed. Within moments his vision flickered black. When he opened his eyes, he was looking up at a low ceiling of what was obviously a hospital, he had seen enough in his younger life to know it intrinsically even if it wasn't like any hospital he had ever seen in his life. Within minutes of awakening there was a knock on the door and in walked one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She wasn't particularly tall but she would have stood out anywhere. She had pink hair and jade coloured eyes. He chastised himself for thinking like that when he didn't know whether Erica was alive or not. While she checked his chart, he sat up and began to remove the IV from his arm.

'What are you doing?' She asked

'I need to get out of here, I have to see the Hokage.' He turned to face her as the IV came loose from his flesh. 'Do you know where I can find him?'

She was looking at him curiously and a little wearily now.

'What do you want with the Hokage? You're a civilian. If you have a mission, you have to request it at the Services building not to the Hokage.'

He stood up and instantly began looking for his shoes and clothes, ignoring the feel of air on his bare backside.

'I need to see the Hokage himself, it's not about a mission, well not directly anyway. I need his help and I think I may have information that he needs to know.' He found his clothes in the drawers built into the nightstand. He began pulling them on, again ignoring her presence. If she was a nurse, as she probably was, she would have seen everything already.

When he had his pants on, he turned to find her leaning her hip on the bed and observing his cautiously. He failed to notice that there was a little more blood in her face than when she had walked in.

'What information?'

He pulled his shirt on and began buttoning it.

'I have no reason to tell you anything, plus it might put you in a dangerous position if anything goes wrong, so I'd rather not. Are you a nurse here or a candy striper or something?'

He contemplated putting on the sweater and decided against it.

'No,' she replied 'I'm a doctor. My name is Haruno Sakura and I am the apprentice to the current Hokage. You had better tell me what information you have or I'm going to have to put you back in that hospital bed.'

He had been pulling on his shoes when she delivered this rather unbelievable statement. He looked up at the girl who wasn't even 5"6' and couldn't weigh more than 120 pounds. It was extremely hard to believe that she was a threat but watching as her eyes hardened and her hands clenched and relaxed, he was tempted to believe her.

'I'm sorry but I am not telling you anything.'

'Wrong choice.'


	10. Ame

**Hello my wonderful readers. First things first, I want to thank Rena, Kakashi-Itachi-Minato, icyprincess1, shark-demon-luv, EmilyMichele01, Valinor's Twilight, RogueSama and Corrina. They reviewed and favourited and I really appreciate that. Secondly, Hi! I am on time this week! I hope you guys enjoy the chapter, I had to defeat a particularly vicious 11 year old to use my own computer. Anyway, I won, Yay! Next chapter will be out next week Tuesday.**

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We had been travelling for what seemed like forever and all I wanted to do was sleep. I had tried, as I had read in some fanfic or the other, to warm myself with chakra but nothing had happened. At some point I had fallen asleep, how I have no idea, but it had served to make me more tired, not less. I had eventually resigned myself to snuggling next to Deidara, who didn't seem bothered by the weather at all.

I was freezing by the time we landed. My stiff legs refused to carry me when he deposited me on the ground and I fell to my knees. The wind gusted against me bringing the smell of rain. The sky above was cloudy and the moon was nothing but a lighter gray against the almost black sky.

He was scanning the area when there was a sudden flash of lightening and the sky let loose. Huge drops of icy water sluiced down, soaking me in seconds. The rain was so hard that I could barely see two feet in front of me. I shrieked in surprise when I was suddenly grabbed and lifted unto someone's shoulders. I started kicking and struggling. When I glanced down I saw the back of a black cloak with blood red clouds. I also noticed I was quite far away from the muddy ground. I tried to twist around to see who was carrying me but he moved in such a way that readjusted me on his shoulder and sent a jarring shoulder into my stomach. The message was loud and clear; don't move. I sighed and fell forward, trying to get as comfortable as possible. Nothing worked. Even though his shoulder wasn't bony or anything, muscle without any fat to coat it was just as uncomfortable. In the end, I propped my elbow against his back and tried to keep my soaked hair off my face. I think my elbow bothered him, he kept jarring me to dislodge it, but he said nothing. He would jar me to dislodge it but I always put it back. I could only envision the bruises I was going to have later.

If I thought I was uncomfortable then, it was nothing compared to when he started to run. I was shaken hard and had to grab on to the back of his cloak to stop myself from moving about. None of this compared with the indignity of having his hand on my ass though. I knew it was to keep me on his shoulder, at least I hoped so, but damn.

The cold was worse with the air rushing past me stealing what little body heat I had. By the time, we stopped moving, I was a hundred times worse than when I had gotten off Deidara's clay dragon. It was still raining. If I had to guess who was carrying me I would have guessed Kisame ... and I would have been right.

I was set on my feet, where I began to wobble precariously. I wrapped my arms around my chest and looked ahead. There were lights winking in the gloom. Kisame nudged me forward with his hand and I started walking. I was stiff with cold and sore, so my movements was slow and painful but he and Deidara, who was walking just ahead of me, seemed content to match their pace with mine.

I was shocked when the dim lights grew suddenly bright and clear and there was a large metal gate ahead. Glancing back, I saw the road as though it were lit by invisible candles. Strange...I was nudged again. I made a noise of irritation and scowled when Kisame smirked at me. Irritating ass, I don't know why people thought he would be nice...Ahead of me Deidara was talking to a ninja with three vertical slashes on his headband and a large slash running across it. Suddenly the man took off his long black slicker and handed it to him. He turned and handed it to me with a curt 'Here, un'.

Without hesitation I pulled it on, relishing the warmth of the jacket. As we moved through the drenched, dim city, people stared respectfully at the Akatsuki members. I saw some glance at me curiously but quickly looked somewhere else. I figured that even though the Akatsuki were respected, and in the cases of Pein and Konan, revered, it wasn't considered a good thing to be taken into their custody. The next time someone looked at me, I smiled at them and waved. The person looked shocked and hurried away.

I couldn't believe anyone would be out in this weather, it was _still_ raining, but more and more people were coming on to the streets. I looked up into the sky and saw that the sky had lightened considerably. It was even a little warmer.

It took us about 15 mins of walking to get to Pein's tower. By then, the rain had almost stopped. There was a light drizzle but the sun was shining in the sky. I was warm within my commandeered jacket and dazzled. I don't know if it was because of the rainfall or because of the constant use of metal for everything but the city was bright and glowing in the morning light. It was shiny, clean and looked almost utopian. In the rain, the city was a depressing mess of gray but with the light shining, everything was shades of silver and gold with signs, clothing and curtains adding pops of vibrant colour and contrast. I was awestruck. No wonder Pein liked to look down on the city, it was beautiful like this.

I was so caught up that I didn't even notice when we reached the building's front door. Well I assumed it was the front door anyway. I didn't see what Deidara did but the panel swung open and we entered a dimly lit chamber. It was round with high unlit ceiling and what looked like metal pipes running up the walls like strange twisty columns. In short, it looked like something out of lord of the rings but done in metal with dim electric lights. There was a sudden rustling of paper and Konan coalesced in front of us. It was impressive and scary at the same time. I imagined being trapped in a mass of her paper sheets being cut by them over and over. It was a grim thought but I had always been kind of creeped out by Konan.

'I will take the girl from here.' She said in her sexy contralto voice.

'Sure, yeah. Is Itachi back yet?'

'Yes. He is in his quarters. Pein will meet with you in an hour in his office.'

'Good.' He turned to me. 'Later.' And then disappeared.

When I looked back to Kisame, he too had disappeared. I yawned and rubbed my eyes.

'Come this way.' She said and walked off to the other side of the room. In a recessed corner was a staircase that was barely lit. There was also no handrail. I figured that only ninjas used it because there was no way any sane person would ever climb them. I wasn't given a choice. There was a sudden flash of light and I turned to see a piece of paper clasped in her hand burning slowly and steadily. It was a long time later, it felt that way at least, that we finally got to the top of the stairs.

Konan led me down the corridor that led to a radiating square of light in the distance. It was dazzling after being in the dimness. There were doors to the left and right of the corridor but none of them had doorknobs or keyholes. I only knew they were doors at all because they were slightly darker than the walls around them and indented in the wall. I was so tired that my vision kept going grainy at odd intervals. I had pushed a little chakra into my legs to get up those stairs and I was going to pay for it and soon.

Konan had been speaking to me for a while, I could tell by her irritated expression.

'This will be your quarters for your time here. You will not be able to leave once I enclose you, do you understand?'

I yawned and nodded. She put her hand, the one with her ring, to the door and it slid open soundlessly. She walked in and I followed. The first thing I saw was the bed and without a thought I made my way over to it and collapsed. I had never felt so good as I did in that moment. I listened to the drone of her voice and hoped that I wasn't missing anything essential. My eyes glazed over and her figure moving to the door was a just a blur of black and red. I rolled over putting my back to her and fell into deep sleep.

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**I hope you enjoyed it. Review if you can.**


	11. Not the only big, fat liar

Good day... ***greeted by silent disapproval* **I know this chapter is very, very late and I am really sorry, I have an excellent series of reasons that I would like to share in point form ***projector screen descends and list comes up***

1. I'm back at University and I had to get resettled and start classes again.

2. I got an eye infection that had me on anti biotics for a while and off the computer.

3. I tried writing out the plot outline for the story. It was way more pressuring and time consuming that writing as I went along, which I was doing before.

Sigh, there you go. Not much of a list but my best shot. I'm really sorry but the chapter this week is a long-ish one. I hope you enjoy it.

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I woke. I rolled unto my back and looked up at the ceiling wondering what could have woken me. I was contemplating going back to sleep when there was a tap at the door. Sitting up I wondered who it could be, Konan wouldn't knock would she? A very deep voice spoke.

'Are you decent?'

'I'm not naked, not sure about decent.' I muttered. 'Sure. You can come in.'

I was pulling a hand through my hair when the door slid aside to reveal Uchiha Itachi. I froze. The door closed soundlessly behind him. There was a running stream of '_Holy shit'_ in my head with odd interjections of '_OMG he is so hot'_.

'Pein sama wishes to have a word with you.'

'Sure, just let me use the bathroom first ok?' He nodded in response.

I slid off the bed on the side farthest from him and tried to look for the bathroom and keep an eye on him at the same time.

'I am not going to harm you.' He said quietly. 'I am very curious to find out why you would accuse me of being a spy. The bathroom is over there.' He indicated a door that was obviously there once I saw it. I didn't respond, just dashed for the bathroom and closed the door behind me. There was no lock. Sighing I took care of business all the while wondering why the hell Pein would send the alleged traitor to collect the witness to said treachery. Maybe he thought that Itachi would do something damning like kill me and so give himself away? But what if Itachi sharinganed me instead and made me change my story? Could the sharingan do that? Maybe Pein would know if he did? Would Itachi try to hurt me? Why was I worried about what he would do? I had lied my pants off and I was about to be confronted about that lie...I was screwed no matter what happened...

'Hurry up.' It wasn't a request. I found toothbrushes (in packages) and toothpaste and brushed my teeth quickly. I was about to open the door when I stopped... I was terrified. I really wasn't ready to die...my only hope was to keep my cool and hope against hope that somehow, some way I would come out of this alive. I took a deep breath. The door opened before I could touch it.

'We leave now.'

'Sure. Sorry I took so long.'

He only nodded. Rather than going back down the stairs we walked to the end of the hall. Stopping at the last door just before what looked like a large living room, he opened it revealing a spiral staircase that led upward. It looked even more treacherous than the one up to the room. I sighed and started to climb. At least if I fall, I'll land on him instead of the other way around. I distracted my mind by contemplating all the things that were wrong with that statement. We got to the top soon and there was...another long corridor. This one was wider than the last and there were very nice sconces on the wall providing a mellow, hotelly feel to it.

'Move.' He said.

I moved. The door at the end of the corridor was dark and more traditional looking with a doorknob and everything. I reached down about to touch it when Itachi grabbed my hand roughly. He let me go and opened the door himself. I found myself in the same room where Deidara had spoken with Pein while we were on the road. The room was semi circular with windows covering all of the wall space. Around me I could see the city. It was drizzling hard and looked close to sunset so I couldn't see much. The room was dim but I had no difficulty recognising the figure in front of me. Pein with his rinnegan eyes was even more intimidating in person than the last time I had seen him. Konan was at his side looking grim. Scattered about the room were sofas and lamps of various heights. More pipes ran the length of the wall behind me.

'Girl, look at me.' Pein's voice all but vibrated through me. I turned to look at him.

He was leaning forward, his hands on the desk in front of me.

'How do you know about the Akatsuki?'

I couldn't answer, every nerve in my body screamed that lying would be an incredibly bad idea and my best bet was to die on my own while I had the chance. My mouth was dry and all I could do was open and close my mouth like a caught fish.

'Answer me!'

I started. 'I...I...I don't ...well that is to say that...dammit I can't tell you!' I immediately clasped my hand over my mouth as my eyes widened.

I didn't see him move but he was suddenly in front of me. He grasped my jaw roughly in his hand and squeezed. It hurt.

'You can't?'

'I can but you won't believe me...I...I don't want to get hurt but if I tell you...'

He let go of me but didn't move back.

'Tell me anyway.'

I was shaking very badly then. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't lie anymore, he would know. Why didn't I just tell the truth? I had enough proof, certainly, and most fanfiction agreed that he should believe me but...if I told him I was from another dimension and had knowledge of his world, what would he do? Would he try to use my knowledge against Konoha (Hell yeah and certainly) or would he try to, I don't know, try to conquer my world? Or (holy shit) both? And even worse than him, what would Madara do? My knees grew weak but I forced myself not to fall.

'Well...I...I...'

I glanced around and my eyes caught a familiar red pair that stood partially obscured by the darkness falling behind him. He looked intent but bored, which was impossible of course. I looked out at the city behind him.

When I looked back, there was no one around me. The room was empty. I turned 360degrees around but I was alone. I turned and ran through the door behind me. When it closed I found myself in my room at home. It was daytime and I could hear my siblings outside in the yard and the sound of plastic waterguns pumping. My room was clean and the sheets smelled like sunshine. I felt tears well up. I was home. I fell face forward unto the bed. As I snuggled my pillow, I felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off of me.

'Where are we?' came a calm, deep voice.

I followed it to see, Itachi leaning against my windowsill looking out unto the lawn. He wasn't wearing his cloak, only a black Tshirt and black capris. It was surreal but my overall feeling was one of calm and safety.

'What are you doing here? Am I dreaming?'

'In a manner of speaking, yes. Where are we?'

'In my room, at home.' I stood up and made my way to the window and looked out. This was clearly a dream, some strange dream brought on by too much anime no doubt. I noticed that the window was open and I could smell fresh cut grass and chopped branches from the lime tree.

'Where is this?'

'Home.'I said leaning out the window to track my brothers as they ran into the house.

'My mom is going to kill them. They're soaking wet. At least I was nowhere near them. I refuse to take the blame for this one.'

'What's this?'

I turned to see Itachi picking up one the Naruto manga I kept in my bookcase. I skipped up to him and took it before sitting on the bed. I patted the space next to me. He sat cautiously.

'This is manga. It's funny that you picked this one actually, not that I have a whole lot, but anyway, this is the one where you die.' He looked confused so after a quick frown, I continued. 'Well, you fought Sasuke and you would have won if you hadn't been sick. You died and transferred your...thing, I can't remember what it's called, into him. I was really sad when I read what happened and the anime was worse. I want to cry every time I see it. I try not to watch it but...reruns.' I picked up the manga and replaced it on the shelf. I found the one after and brought it to him.

'Here. This is the one you should know about. After all your hard work and sacrifice, Madara still got to him.' He took the book without a word and began to flip through it. 'Can you read that?' I asked.

He merely nodded. Leaning against his shoulder I followed his progress through the book. He was a fast reader. He showed no reaction to what he read but I felt a fine tremor in his shoulder. I didn't care. I was too relaxed, too heavy and too sleepy to do anything but drift off. I was home and I was safe. Nothing could harm me. I was dreaming or drowsing or fantasizing or whatever and when I woke up, I would go downstairs and get an apple from the fridge.

I had just closed my eyes when I felt myself shaken and I was looking up into Pein's face from inches away. Was I still dreaming? I blinked and focused.

'She seems to be taking a long time to return to her senses Uchiha. Did you do more than I asked you?'

'No Pein sama. '

'Am I still dreaming?' I asked. I was so confused my head was spinning. 'What happened to me? I was home a second ago, where am I?'

I looked out the window to see that it was full dark and then some. Holy shit! I immediately looked at Itachi. His eyes were deactivated and he looked exhausted. He moved slowly to one of the sofas and sat down. I collapsed to my knees.

'Well, Itachi, what did you discover?'

'You were right Pein sama, she is lying. She lied to Deidara about where she got her information and he was not able to force the truth from her.'

'I see. What else?'

'She's not a spy. She lied about that too. She does not know the Sannin and she has never set foot in Konoha, as I advised in the first place.' He looked at Pein pointedly.

'Very well, then where did she get her information? You are not a spy and she is not a spy. Those two cannot _both_ be true. Either my eyes are wrong and you were lying earlier or you are lying to me now and she is a spy with sources elsewhere. My eyes are never wrong, so where is her information source?'

I listened to the exchange with rising dread. I had been calm before but no longer. My heart was picking up pace and tears were again pricking my eyes.

'I'm so sorry.' I said, 'I felt I had to lie. Deidara was going to kill me. I needed to come up with something good to make him stop. I didn't know what to do.'

'You lying bitch, un!' Emerging out of the shadows to my right, a place I had not paid much attention to, was an enraged Deidara. I had never seen him look so crazy...ever. His hands were stuck in his pouches and his eyes were narrowed dangerously. He was bearing down on me. I tried to stand but my legs felt wobbly and I couldn't. I don't know what he had planned but he stopped suddenly and his body went limp and he fell over. I jumped at the loud thump he made as he hit the floor. A sound drew my attention and I looked back to see Itachi deactivate his sharingan and sit back down calmly as though nothing had happened.

'As I was saying, Deidara was not able to locate the source of her information because SHE is the source of the information.' He paused as Pein took the time to look me over again. I felt like I was hyperventilating.

'How?' he asked

'She has a very uncommon bloodline limit. She can read a person and glean information on them based on their chakra. The person needs to be incredibly strong, however. She was initially from Amegakure but her family was killed and separated during the war. She spent much of her life travelling with a man called Sam. She has for the most part avoided ninjas, but she was unlucky enough to encounter Deidara while working at a tempura stand. Her memories suggest that she has no control over the amount or type of information she acquires. When Deidara left, she mentioned meeting him to her companion and that is what Deidara heard.'

'I see. If this is true, then how did she know about you? How could she have any information about you at all?' Pein asked moving to sit behind his desk.

Itachi leaned forward. 'She knew about me, and about us because Deidara is preoccupied with me. During his interrogation, he touched her (well, that sounded dirty) and she was able to pick the information from Deidara's mind.'

Pein turned to me, his eyes speculative. 'Is that true?'

I took a deep breath before I responded, 'He said that he didn't care about the Akatuki's objectives, that he had his own. He had me up against a wall and he was going to kill me. I didn't know what to do...I panicked so I told him that I could help him bring down Itachi and since he already thought I was a spy...' I looked down at the blond and felt a wave of remorse even though he had tried to kill me. 'He tried to trick me into revealing that I didn't know Jiraiya but Hidan messed it up.'

'I see. Let me test my understanding, you can touch someone and have access to information about the individual?'

'Uh, well it's like memories, like seeing memories in my head and its only strong people, ninjas almost exclusively, actually.'

Pein looked unconvinced and I wondered if he believed me at all. The room was silent as he seemed to think. 'I want to see your ability at work. If you refuse for any reason you will be killed, do you understand me?'

I nodded.

'Konan.'

'Yes, Pein sama.'

She came to a stop in front of me and extended her hand. 'Is this enough skin contact? Or is more necessary?'

I frowned slightly. I must be feeling better because I had the urge to snicker. 'Um, yeah. Your hand should be fine.' I looked to Pein where he leaned against his desk watching us. 'I'm not refusing or anything, I just want you to know that I can't control what I remember or how much, ok?' He nodded.

I took Konan's extended left hand and wrapped it in both of mine. Closing my eyes I tried to look focused and intent. I wasn't sure how long I should take to make this look realistic so I started to count to 20 slowly. Right about 14, I started to become very aware of the fact that Konan's hand felt odd in mine. I could feel her physical hand, it was surprisingly soft and smooth, but there was something else as well. There was another...something over her physical hand and it felt vaguely buzzy or staticky. Was this her chakra? Was that what I was feeling? I felt for my own chakra and focused on gathering it to the point where our hands joined. The space between our palms felt thicker and more charged all of a sudden and Konan tried to pull away.

'Konan. Hurry up girl.' Came Pein's voice. It interrupted what I was thinking and the sensation was lost. Well damn.

I opened my eyes and opened my hand signalling that I was done. I was feeling tired all over again.

Konan stepped back and Pein stepped forward almost as though they had synchronised it. He looked down straight into my eyes. I was immediately dizzy. Wow.

'What did you see?'

I had spent count 1 to 10 deciding what I wanted him to know. I was glad I had. Looking up into his pierced pale zombie-esque face I couldn't think at all.

'Konan is the only female member of the Akatsuki. She's your...protege and a very close long time friend. There was another person who had very red hair but I don't really know where he is now. I got some weird stuff about her in a tadpole suit but I have no idea what that was about. Um...was there something specific you wanted to know?' Konan had always scared me so I didn't know much about her. I hoped to god that he didn't ask what her favourite color was or something.

Throughout my little monologue he had remained impartial and seemingly unimpressed or was that just his normal look? 'Tell me something that none of the other Akatsuki would know.'

I thought, reconsidered and then thought again. Oh hell, why not? The situation couldn't get worse could it? 'Well...I could tell you how she dies...would that count?'

'Yes.' Konan said. She looked unconcerned but she glanced at Pein before settling her gaze on me.

I turned to him. 'Should I? I mean, there is no way to verify it either way.'

'Yes. Speak.' Pein confirmed

'Ok.' I took another deep breath. 'She dies in a fight with a man wearing a strange mask. I have no clue who he is but they fight over ...you, where you were located. She creates an avalanche of paper bombs that manages to take one of his arms off but doesn't kill him. He stabs her with a huge scythe thing...'

'Enough!' I jumped and stepped back a little. Pein was frowning. Not good, not good at all. He stuck his hand out suddenly and grabbed my arm. 'Tell me what you see?'

I was about to protest but he shook me. 'Do it!'

'Yes, of course, sorry.' He loosened his hold and I clasped his hand loosely. His skin wasn't cold but it wasn't warm either. It took me a few seconds to realise that it was the exact temperature of the room around it. Dead body...I shuddered and my hand started to sweat. His chakra, that's what it felt like, beat against my hand almost physically. My own chakra felt thin against it. It was like feeling the difference between lace and heavy quilts. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes then opened them again.

'Was...was there something specific...did you want to know, well the same thing as her? Or do you want to...'

'Tell me how I die.'

I closed my eyes again and focused on not pulling my hand away from him. When I felt enough time had passed, I opened my eyes and gently tugged my hand from his, wiping it hurried against my jeans.

'I'm sorry but I kept getting weird stuff. I kept seeing you dead but that was in the past, not in the future. I don't know what that means, exactly.'

'Is that all?' He seemed more relaxed all of a sudden.

'Yeah. It was weird, like having more than one...life in one body but that can't be right. I'm really sorry.' There, I hope the bastard was satisfied. By that point I had almost forgotten how I had gotten there and what I was trying to accomplish. I cast a glance at my unexplained accomplice as he sat silent and unmoving in his sofa chair then at Deidara still out cold not six feet away from me. It had been a long night and even though I just gotten up, I was suddenly sleepy again. I rubbed at my eyes tiredly.

'Look at me.' I looked up at Pein who was once again behind his desk. 'I have decided that your gift may be of use to us. You will stay here till we have no more use for you and if you serve us faithfully you will be freed. If there is even a hint of deception or betrayal, I will not hesitate to kill you, is that understood?'

'Yeah, yeah I understand.'

'Good. Are your ears pierced?'

'Yeah they are...why do ask?'I asked frowning.

He handed something to Konan who brought it to me. It was an earring in the same shiny metal as all of Pein's piercings.

'Put it on.' She told me.

I examined the stud closely. It was a simple stud. It looked similar to the one that Konan wore on her lip and ears. I glanced from one to other totally confused.

'Do I have to?' I asked, 'What is it for?'

Konan replied. 'It allows Pein sama to be aware of your location at all times. He will know where you are and will know if you even try to take it off. He can also, incapacitate you through it, if need be. Do you have any further questions?'

'Uh, yeah. If I don't want to wear it, are there any other options?'

'Yes, you can remain locked in this tower every day for the rest of your time here.'

I thought.

'I think I'll wear the ear ring, then. Oh, and one more thing. Any chance that I can have another of these? It would be kind of weird to be wearing one of these on one ear and gold hoop on the other.' The look they gave me was one of incredulity 'Okay then, can I get this as a belly button piercing then? It would make more sense that way? What do you think?' By this point, _I_ wasn't if I was serious.

'No.' Pein replied before immediately dismissing my presence 'Konan, take her back to her room and get her what she needs.'

'Yes Pein sama.' She walked over to me and took the stud from me. Before I could protest she had my left hoop in my hand and had replaced it with the Pein tracker. The spoke part was thicker than any I had ever seen before and it hurt like heck when she forced it in. I squeaked but held still knowing that fidgeting would make it hurt more. When she was done she gave the stud a couple of turns.

'You should experience some discomfort at first but once it stays in, your body will adjust to won't hurt for long.' She stepped back in confusion as I started to snicker. She frowned.

'Come.' She said as she exited. Opening the door, she stepped out ahead of me and closed it behind us. She turned to me. 'You must never come here unless called for and escorted, do you understand?'

'Yeah.'

She turned and walked away. I hurried to catch up. 'Hey Konan san, what's the deal with the doorknob?' She turned to me but did not reply.

'Move and be silent.' _Well okay then Ms Crankypants._ Although... I could understand how hearing about her death could have unsettled her. I let her be until we were almost at my room.

'Hey Konan,' she gave me an irritated look, 'Uh, this is a serious question, really. I'm expecting my, well you know and I need to get stuff. I don't know what you ninjas use but if I have a choice...'

'Do you want to have your period?'

'What? No. Hell no. Why?'

'Be ready by 9am tomorrow morning. We will pick up the necessary supplies as well as some clothes and personal items.' She pressed her hand to my door and it slid open. 'Go to bed.'

'Sure. Thanks Konan. Have a good night.' She turned and walked away before my door even fully closed. I took a deep breath and shuddered. I was alive. I had made it. I fell unto the bed like a rock but sleep eluded me. When I finally fell asleep I was plagued with nightmares in which I was digging a hole that kept getting deeper and deeper till I lost sight of the world around me and there was only darkness. I woke up thrashing and slept no more that night.


	12. Shopping with Konan

Konan found me awake when she came to my room in the morning. The room had no windows but it did have a large clock. It was 9.01am. There was also a bookcase and even though I couldn't read the damn things, I had fun looking at the illustrations and trying to guess what the stories were about. I was at the point in one where the ninja female (with huge knockers) was standing on a bridge beneath a full moon. In the distance, hidden in the foliage was her lover who looked very dead (but artistically so I might add). Konan cleared her throat and I closed the book and dropped it on the bed.

'Are you ready to leave?' I asked getting to my feet. 'I need shoes by the way.'

She nodded and went over to one of the cupboards I had completely ignored. Opening it she pulled out a pair of soft fuzzy white slippers that looked way too big for my feet. I didn't even bother protesting, I just put them on.

'You don't talk much do you?' I asked

'I don't speak when I have nothing to say. You should try it sometime.' She said but while her voice was dry her face curved in a smirk.

'Yeah, well. I tried once and people begged me to stop...said something about it being a sign of the apocalypse or something.'

'Here.' She said handing me a small glass bottle with tiny white pills in it.

'What's this?'I asked shaking the bottle slightly.

'Kunoichi pills... You don't know what they are?'

'Well, no. I've never seen them before. What do they do?'

She eyed me speculatively, 'Kunoichi use them to stop their menstrual cycle. It's used traditionally to avoid complications when going on long term missions but many women use it regularly now.'

'Wow, I always wondered how that worked. That's pretty cool. Is it like birth control then?'

'No. Since you've never taken it before, you'll need to take it twice a day till the day your cycle is supposed to start and then once a day for its duration. After this month is over, you'll need to take one pill a day everyday afterward. Any questions?'

'Yeah, any side effects?'

'We should leave now.' She said going over to the door and opening it.

'Wait, is that a yes or a no? Konan...?'

Shopping with Konan: by far the most fun I'd had since I'd gotten there. I would love to say that we became the best of friends and bonded and all that shit but that would be a lie. She did warm up to me though and made jokes (usually at my expense but no complaints). It was like going shopping with your much cooler, pain in the ass older sister who didn't necessarily like you. The morning was bright and shiny and not raining. Konan told me that the rain would start right after lunch so we only had about three hours before it started. She was a brisk walker and I spent a lot of time catching up to her. She fed me though and for that alone, I would forgive her anything. We had hot, sweet, rice porridge at a little stall not far from the tower.

Our first stop was a large shoe store that seemed to specialise in ninja shoe ware. While I wandered around looking at the variety, Konan spoke to the salesman at the counter. Ninja sandals were awesome. Most came with hidden compartments and detachable straps (for strangling enemies?), while others had hidden weapons in the sole. I was examining one that had a stiletto (the knife as well as the heel) when Konan grabbed me by the arm and sat me down on one of the stools. The small, wrinkled owner came over and began to measure my feet. I spent several minutes squirming and giggling. I have very ticklish feet. The store clerk was not amused. Konan ended up purchasing the stilettos I had been looking at. I ended up leaving in my fuzzy while slippers.

Next we went to clothing store. Again it seemed to specialise in the more form fitting outfits kunoichi seemed to favour. I took the lead on this one because there was no way I would ever wear anything with that much fishnet and heavy spandex.

'Konan, what do you mean you don't know what a bra is? A bra... that thing women wear to keep rebellious boobies in line?' Her look said it all. 'Fine, I'll show you. Let's go to the dressing room.'

5 minutes later.

'It is quite ingenious but it doesn't look particularly sturdy. Where would you attach weapons to that?'

'It doesn't look sturdy because this is a date bra, its supposed to look flimsy and easily pulled off but there are sports bras and bras you wear to school and ...'

'That doesn't make sense. Why use all of those when netting and wrapping works equally as well in all of those situations.'

'But the support...'

'Is just fine for all but the heaviest of bosoms. And furthermore, those straps look extremely uncomfortable.' She reached out pulled one of the shoulder straps and let it go.

'Ow! Geez, we'll agree to disagree.'

The end of all this was that I decided to take very good care of the only bra in the ninja universe and Konan bought me a set of spandex halters, fishnet and wrappings. I also got five new sets of clothes ranging from bright blue to kazekage red. If I had left it to Konan, those outfits would have consisted solely of short skirts, shorts and halters. As it was, 3 of the 5 included capris and tshirts which I had found in the men's section. There were no long pants. Konan got two sets of new clothes; one in a deep blue and another in royal purple.

We went to a few more places before we returned the shoe store to collect my new sandals. As I slipped them on I breathed a sigh of relief and comfort. The shoe was closed except for openings at the toe and heel and small flower shaped holes on the upper. It was calf high and had a very sturdy looking zipper at the back. I marvelled at the silence when I pulled them on and zipped it up. I stood, walked, jumped and did a slightly sloppy, if high, front kick. They were divine.

The sky had darkened visibly by the time we got back. Konan was holding all of the bags, including the takeout as we made our way upstairs. We stopped at my door.

'Erica, press your ear to the door...no, the other one.'

'Why? What am I listening for?' As I asked, the door slid open and I fell forward. 'Ow. You really hate me don't you?'

'Hush. Where do you want these?' she asked. I gestured to the bed and she dropped them without hesitation. She seemed more relaxed than I had ever seen her. I yawned. Shopping had taken a lot out of me and I was starving. Outside, I could hear a dull roar that must be the sound of Amegakure rain.

'Come.' She said.

We made our way to the large semi circular living room at the end of the hall. She put on the lights and the room transformed from dark and stormy to warm and inviting. Like Pein's office upstairs, the walls were glass all the way around. The decor was a mix of red and white with dark marble (?) counters in the kitchen section.

'Sit.' She said. I sat.

I had spent the day learning about Konan and I'd learned that one word meant do it or else. If you didn't, she would either ignore you and do what she wanted or she would make you do what she said. Not pleasant. I wiggled in the high stool feeling weird that my feet couldn't touch the floor. She took out two bowls and filled it with a selection from the takeout boxes (I had selected all of the dishes). Handing me a bowl, she leaned against the counter almost opposite to me. The smell made my mouth water.

'Is some of that for me?' came a voice from behind me. I started and almost toppled the stool. Kisame only laughed at me and made his way over to inspect the food.

'Of course. The box in the fridge is for Pein sama but you can have anything on the counter.'

'Does that include her?' he asked, winking at me. Ew!

Konan smirked. 'No, I don't recommend that.'

He smirked at me this time and set about piling food into a bowl, literally. It looked like the leaning tower of Pisa by the time he was done. Then he dug in and in moments it was over.

'Wow.' I said taking a bite of squid tempura. He was about to say something lecherous, no doubt when...

'Sempaii!'

'Holy shit!' I yelled and this time I did fall off the stool. Even though the floor was carpeted, it was still fricking hard. 'Ow.'

'Where's sempai, Konan san? Tobi came back today but Sempai was not in his room and Itachi san tried to kill Tobi when he asked him where Sempai was, how was Tobi supposed to know that Itachi san was in the shower?, Kisame san, have you seen Sempai? And who is this?' he asked.

I had been snickering quietly at the whole Itachi thing when Tobi aka Madara stuck his masked face right in front of mine where I sat on the floor. Holy shit, Madara was big. I found my eyes drawn to the hole in his mask before I let myself do what my body was screaming to do. I screamed and began to kick my feet wildly.

'Get the hell away from me you creep!'

'Ahhh! Umph.' He yelled.

'Ahhh! Ouch!' I yelled scrambling up and hitting my head on the underside of the counter. 'Fuck! What the hell? Don't just jump on people like that! What kind of pervert are you anyway?'

He was sitting on the floor rubbing his...stomach (what were you thinking you perve?). 'Tobi is not a pervert...Tobi just wanted to know where his sempai is?' he said jumping to his feet and then jumping behind Kisame. 'Tobi is not a pervert! Tobi is a good boy.'

'That's what they all say. It's always the quiet, well, the unassuming ones you have to look out for. For all we know you could be one of those sex fiends who steal women's underwear and peek at them in the bath.'

'Tobi does not...'

'Ah but you do. Just ask Itachi...'

'Ask me what?'

Walking into the kitchen was a freshly showered Uchiha, hair wet but combed and clinging just a little to his face. I Pushed myself to my feet and brushed rice off my Tshirt.

'The girl just accused Tobi of being a pervert who looks at people in the bath,' Kisame said when it became clear that I was speechless. (His smile was wide as great whites) 'She was about to use you as an example when you appeared.'

'Hn. Is there more?' He asked gesturing to the food.

'Help yourself, just leave the container in the fridge.' Konan replied.

He nodded and took a clean bowl from the cupboard and began to fill it.

Still smirking, Kisame stretched 'Thanks for the food.' And walked off down the corridor. I watched him go and noticed for the first time that he wasn't wearing his cloak. Tobi looked after the mist nin before turning his attention back to me.

'Tobi is not a pervert! Tobi is a good boy and girl chan should apologise for saying mean things like that!'

'I am not saying mean things about you. I merely said that jumping on recumbent people like that can be considered the act of a perverted and depraved mind is all.'

Turning my back on him I hopped back unto my stool and continued eating my food. I noticed that several pieces of my tempura were missing. I looked at Konan whose mouth looked a tad bit too shiny before sighing and reaching for the carton.

'Tobi, Deidara was sent on a mission early this morning. He will not be back for several weeks.' Konan said.

'But Tobi is Deidara Sempai's partner, shouldn't Tobi have gone with him?'

I jumped again and would have fallen if Tobi hadn't been right freaking behind me.

'No. This was something for him to do alone. You will be assigned a mission beginning tomorrow morning.'

'Hai, Konan san.'

Three things happened at once then. One, Tobi yelled BYE! At the top of his lungs, I saw Konan's eyes widen and my stool was pulled from under me. I fell. The bowl of rice, vegetables, tempura and spicy squid fell too and ended up scattered across my chest and face. I lay there stunned and unmoving for several seconds before a red faced, snickering Konan came and pulled me off the floor.

'That was really mean of him.' I said shaking rice out of hair.

'Well, I suppose. Maybe he didn't like being called a pervert.' She was almost chuckling now.

'Well I guess not.' I said quietly. I hurried to my room to clean up.

After a long hot shower I changed into a comfy pair of capris and a tshirt before lying down to sleep.


	13. Nocturnal Visitor

**Hello everybody… I know this is pretty late in coming and for that I apologise. I tried to write, really I did but nothing I wrote sounded right. Anyway... I decided to get back on track and put something up. I hope you enjoy it. **

**Remember I don't own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does and let us all pray that he is alright, wherever he is. Am I the only one traumatised by what's happened in Japan?**

**Review if you can. It's only if you tell me that I'll know if something is right or wrong.**

Nocturnal Visitor

I woke suddenly to find a pair of crimson eyes staring me in the face. I opened my mouth to scream but his hand covered my mouth. Before I could blink, I found myself back in my room at home.

'Jesus Christ!' I yelled jumping away from him and backing into my bookcase. 'What the hell is wrong with you Uchihas? You act all anti social and emo one minute and the next you're all up a someone's face!'

I was startled and breathing heavily with my arms crossed over my chest. And then...

'Be calm.' He said and just like that I felt my pulse slow and all my anger and anxiety leave me. My knees wobbled and I collapsed on my bed feeling relaxed and content.

'That's not fair, Itachi. I didn't even know you could do that. Why am I here again?' I yawned and lay back against my bed head. He took up space against the window.

'I needed to speak with you where our conversation could not be overheard.'

'Is this in my mind? I know it can't be in yours, I'm pretty sure you've never been to my house before.'

'I took you to the place where you felt most comfortable. You supplied all the imagery I needed to create this place.'

'Oh. How can you make me calm then? If I made this, then why aren't I controlling it?'

'You did not make this. This is part of a genjutsu that I have created using your memories. You are calm because, as long as you are in my mind, I can control how you perceive reality and respond to it.'

'I see. Well, at least it's not the scary inverted world where you tortured Sasuke and Kakashi, cuz that would suck.' I sat up suddenly and moved to the door. I looked back at him. 'If I go through this door, will I be able to go downstairs to the kitchen, or is this all that exists?'

'I do not have time for your inanities. I have an urgent matter to discuss.'

'But...'

'If you do not sit down, I will take us to a place that will make the _inverted world_ feel like a festival.'

'Okay...' I moved back and sat on the bed. For a long moment we stared at one another. He opened his mouth to speak but I interrupted him. 'I know I shouldn't say this but I'm way too calm to care about the consequences, so here it goes: You take life way too seriously. I think your life would be much better if you expressed yourself more and thought about your own happiness a little more often. It must be incredibly disappointing to sacrifice your entire life to someone only to have them throw it back in your face but I understand. I have an older brother and sister and two younger siblings. You can't help loving the little monsters even if you do want to kill them sometimes. The point is, that you can't do everything for Sasuke as much as you would like to. Some things he just has to learn on his own and maybe learn the hard way. All you can do is be there for him when the time comes and… not die…' I finished sheepishly not quite sure why I opened my big mouth 'I know it's not a full-fledged anime speech but I did my best. I've said my peace, you may proceed.' I waved my hand gesturing for him to speak.

Obviously choosing to ignore what I said, 'I need to know how far your knowledge of our world extends. Tell me everything.'

I tugged a hand through my hair. 'Everything? That is quite a lot and well, if I tell you what's going to happen, it probably won't happen at all. And do you need to know how I know this stuff cuz I really don't have a kekkie genkei, like you told Pein I did.'

'I am aware of that. As I understand it, you are from a world where our world does not exist except as fiction. You were a _fan_ (said like he was saying something disgusting) and the books I read before were purchased because of that. Am I right?'

'Yup. I am sure glad I didn't have to explain that. Are you still making me calm?'

'No. The reaction I created was temporary. It would be a waste of energy to dominate your mind for an extended period of time.'

'Gotcha. So...I'm actually just comfortable talking to you here? No mind tricks or anything, right?'

'Hn.'

'Okay then. Uh, what were we talking about again? And you may need to ask more specific questions, cuz I know a lot of shit and you'll be out of chakra before I finish talking.'

He looked doubtful but replied 'Very well. What do you know about Uchiha Madara?'

'He's really Tobi. He's the real founder of the Akatsuki and he's seriously evil.'

'Is that all?'

'No but the other stuff sounds insane, even for me. I'd rather not say it.'

'Tell me.'

I sighed 'He wants to collect the bijuu to use the moon as a giant sharingan and take over the world. Well, he says that that's the plan but who announces their plan to a room full of powerful people bent on stopping you? I mean _really_. I think he was bullshitting them but hey, that's just me. I mean, it was a freaking Kage conference!'

'Kage conference?' I get an eyebrow raise on that one.

'Yeah, after Konoha gets attacked by Pein, the different nations decide to meet to address the problem of the Akatsuki. That's when your brother shows up and tries to kill Danzo...'

'What does Danzo have to do with this?' He scowls, his darkened eyes bleeding red.

'Danzo got himself appointed as the Hokage when Tsunade didn't wake up. He took her place at the conference and Sasuke knew that. He went after him because Madara told him that Danzo was the real reason behind the Uchiha massacre.'

His face darkened visibly. Behind him I saw storm clouds gather.

'Why does Sasuke believe that Danzo is responsible for the massacre?'

'Because Madara told him so after you died. He was all emo like and guilt stricken. Madara directed his hate towards Danzo and Konoha. He also said, indirectly, that you'd had a girlfriend which made me doubt the whole story… well that and the fact that a 100 year old, evil, dead guy was telling it. I actually didn't get to see the anime version for that but I did read the manga all the way through. I wonder if we change stuff here if the manga in my world would change...what do you think?'

He looked at me and I opened my eyes. It was morning and I felt very restful and lethargic. I lay in bed for a long time feeling awake but not quite ready to get up. Had I dreamt the entire thing or had it really happened? I was leaning towards the latter. I had so many questions, the biggest of which were; _what the hell was going to happen now? Had I changed the future by coming here and being a complete moron? Why on earth couldn't I keep my mouth shut?_ And my favourite, _What am I going to do?_ I lay there for a long time but no answers presented themselves. My future was uncertain and that was a fact and it wasn't just my future either. I thought about Sam and I prayed that he was alright. I knew that he would look for me and I knew that he wouldn't find me. I sighed and got up. At least I knew that he would be safe…I mean, really, this was Sam…how much trouble could he get into?


	14. Good news? Bad news

**Ah yes, I hereby give you two chapters and in one night too...I hope you enjoy. I thought the other was a little short so here is as another as compensation. Please enjoy and don't forget to review. All reviews, good or not so good are appreciated. **

Good news? Bad news.

Sam stared at Tsunade sama…the Hokage. She was a buxom, blonde woman who looked to be in her late twenties, early thirties. Her yellow hair was tied in relaxed pigtails and she had a blue diamond tattoo on her forehead. At first, Sam couldn't believe that she was really the leader of a ninja village… then he glanced at the pink haired girl who had taken him down easily and decided that he shouldn't be surprised at all.

Standing in the room, apart from Sam and the Hokage, were the two men who had questioned him, the young woman from the hospital (Sakura they had called her) and a strange silver haired, masked man who had been lounging against an open window for the past 15mins. In his hand was a book that hadn't closed once during the entire recounting of Sam's unbelievable tale.

'So,' the Hokage began. 'You need my help in finding your friend who has been abducted by the Akatsuki, a group of the most powerful missing nin in the world, is that right?'

'Yes.'

'And you don't know why exactly they took her, but you suspect that it was because she had knowledge about them because you are both from a different dimension?'

'Yes.'

'And the reason she has such knowledge is because, according to her, the world that we exist in is the same as that of _television series_ that she is a fan of. Is everything I have said so far correct?' She asked, getting to her feet.

'Yes it is Hokage sama.'

She banged her fist on the desk 'I don't believe you!'

Sam took a deep breath. There was no sense in getting angry. He was not in a position to do anything at this point and threatening, or even seeming to threaten anyone, would be a very bad idea. He flicked a glance at the pink haired woman beside him. She was still and calm as though accustomed to such violent outbursts.

'I don't know who you are and what your aim is but that story is bullshit. What I don't understand,' she said very calmly before sitting down again 'is why you would lie. Furthermore, all of the information I have suggests that you are actually telling some version of the truth. We spoke with the merchant Ichiku Genza this morning and he confirmed his end of the story. We also interviewed Higachi Himori who attests to your sudden appearance in Shiza and the presence of a woman name Erica.' She leaned forward giving Sam a good, if unwanted, view of her breasts. 'All in all, I have no reason to disbelieve you and evidence to suggest that you may be telling the truth.'

'I am telling the truth. I've been telling the truth since I got here and no one believed me. You're right, this whole situation sounds ridiculous because it is ridiculous. I don't know anything about this TV show Naruto that Erica told me about. I don't know who Kakashi is and the only reason I even knew the word Hokage was because she mentioned it to me. She tried to convince me that this was real and I didn't believe her.' Sam stopped and counted to ten. 'I _understand_ why you wouldn't believe me but it's the truth. They took her and we have to get her back.'

'And she isn't your lover?' The Hokage asked with genuine interest on her face. She was very intent for such a seemingly unrelated question.

'No, we're friends.'

'Good.' She gestured to the guard on the left who handed her a small roll of paper. 'Early this morning I received a report from a small village called Mikan. Apparently Deidara, the blonde Akatsuki, was reported as having entered the village carrying an unconscious dark haired young woman. He bought some food and rented a room. He was seen leaving the hostel not too long after that.'

'She's alive, then.' Sam said, his voice bare exhalation of relief. The Hokage cast him a sharp look before continuing.

'My informant reported movement and activity in the room and seeing the woman standing at the window. She tried to break the glass, it seems but was unable to. Later on, Deidara returned and was seen entering the building. Within 15 minutes there was an explosion that destroyed the entire top floor of the building.'

'Wait, what?' Sam asked. His heart seemed to have stopped in his chest before starting again at a frenzied pace. 'She wasn't in the building at the time was she? She's alive, isn't she?' he asked.

The Hokage looked cold and thoughtful but to those who knew her there was a flicker of compassion in her eyes. 'We don't know. Extremely powerful explosives were used. Everything on that top floor was vaporized. The blast was so powerful that the concussive force collapsed the floor and killed three people on the floor below.'

For a long moment, none of what she said made sense. 'Did anyone see them leave? Is there any indication that they made it?' he asked

'No. My agent said that nothing could have survived.' She steepled her fingers and looked at him sadly.

There was silence. For a moment, it was as though the world had gone colourless and still.

Outside the building, birds chirped and people chatted but there was a hush in the air. Then there was an explosion. The Anbu at the gate looked towards the Hokage tower in time to see the windows explode outward showering the surroundings in glass and wood. It heralded a cacophony of sound as ninja rushed to the tower and those on duty prepared themselves for the possibility of an attack.


	15. One Fine Morning

**Heh heh, I almost forgot the disclaimer again...sigh, the joys of old age. Hello people, I hope your week went well, if not, the weekend is here to take some of your troubles away. I want to thank all those who reviewed and favourited. Special shout out to Random.d0.0b, Tough chick, AkatsukiMemberShadow, NarutardKerry, Kakashi Forever, EmilyMichele01 and PepperMist. Thank you, all of you, who have reviewed and favourited. I appreciate every single one of them**.

**I do not own Naruto, I only own the characters I create. **

After brushing my teeth and a quick shower, I made my way to the kitchen in search of breakfast. As I set foot in the room, I froze. The mess, made by a very irresponsible Uchiha, lay like an accusation on the floor. It was disgusting. Trying to ignore it I went to the fridge but the more I looked, the more I realised that the living room was a mess. All the dust and dirt that I had missed in the forgiving yellow lighting and darkened windows were almost painfully grotesque in the bright light of morning. I took a deep breath and turned deliberately away from the dusty tables and furniture. The fridge was a mess. The cupboards were a mess. The floor had been swept at some point but there were stains and messes that had dried unto the floor.

I found a box of sugary cereal in one of the cupboards and climbed up unto the counter to enjoy it. Since I couldn't find any glasses of cups, I filled a rinsed bowl with some delicious water to wash it down. By the time Konan joined me I was a little pissed.

'How can you guys live here and eat in a kitchen like this? Doesn't this,'I gestured to the room 'disgust you?'

To my surprise she smiled at me. 'You get used to it. We used to have a maid but someone murdered her. We decided not to replace her.'

My eyes widened 'Are you serious?'

She reached up into one of the higher cupboards and began rooting around 'Have you taken your pills as yet?'

'Uh...yeah. You're ignoring me, right?'

Pulling out a canister, she began hunting around in the lower cabinets.

'Ok, then. Do you guys even own a broom, or a mop? I can't eat in a place like this. I keep expecting to touch something sticky.'

Instead of answering, she opened the cabinet under the sink and pulled out a cobweb covered broom which she propped up against my leg.

Looking me in the eye she said 'I've done as much as I can to keep this place tidy but frankly I'm not good with domestic things even if I am _a woman_. I'm a ninja and have always been a ninja. You want to clean? Go right ahead but I can tell you this, no one will thank you for it and it'll be dirty again before the sun rises.' She turned and began filling a pot with water.

'I didn't mean any criticism, Konan-san. I know that you're busy and I would never expect you to clean _just_ because you're a woman...what do I look like, a man?'

To my surprise, she actually smiled. It lit up her face.

I smiled back. 'I'll clean the living room today. It will give me something to do and keep me out of trouble. Hell, I could even cook, if you'll give me money for ingredients. I swear, I will not deliberately poison anyone.'

Her back was to me as she poured what could be oatmeal into the pot.

'I suppose you could and it's been ages since anyone actually cooked in this kitchen, so why not?' She turned to me wooden spoon held like a weapon. 'You're a smart girl, even if you don't act it, so some things should be obvious. If you try to escape, draw attention to yourself or contact anyone outside the village you will be killed. Don't even touch the tracker and I don't eat anything with tomatoes. Got it?'

'Right, got it.'

I'm not going to bore you with the details, I mean really, who wants to hear about cleaning and dusting for two and a half hours? No one, that's who. Sad thing was, it did take two and a half hours and while I would have liked to skip that part myself, my disgust and my words to Konan kept me at it. When the living room was spotless, surfaces as well as floor, I took a long hot shower and headed out. The village was oddly sunny this morning and the bright light on metal made my eyes water. It was hot too. I wished I had my sunglasses but they were probably on lab floor back in the old world.

I had decided to make a pilaf with chicken and peas but found that half of the ingredients I needed were not in the grocery store. After checking the third store, I finally got up the courage to ask the shop keeper for what I wanted. He literally laughed at me.

After visiting the butchers and the spice shop, I bought myself some sweets and sat outside watching the clouds gather over the village.

'Oh for the love of God, why does it always rain here?' I complained loudly.

'Well, it is the Village Hidden in the Rain, you know.'

Startled, I glanced over at the only other customer sitting outside. He had a mug of tea and looked exhausted. He also looked familiar.

'Hi, do I know you from somewhere?' I asked

He smiled, 'Well I should certainly hope so. You stole my jacket a few nights ago, didn't you?'

I smirked, so it was him. 'Yeah. Sorry about that. You can have it back if you want. I may even wash it.' I replied smoothly. My god, I was flirting, I could feel the blood heating my face.

'No need.' He said indicating another, newer jacket draped over the chair next to him. 'Can I join you?'

'Sure but we won't have much time, this rain looks like it may be down any minute.' I glanced up at the darkening sky.

'Nah, we're fine for at least another hour or so. The rain works as the God wills.'

I tried not to look sceptical. 'I see.'

He gazed up at the sky for a moment and I took the time to study him.

He was younger than I would have first estimated, twenty five at most. His eyes and expression were that of someone who had seen a lot and done things he wasn't necessarily proud of. He was about average height with light brown hair and hazel eyes. His clothes were drab and probably for camouflage. The only thing that made him different was the way he seemed to vibrate sincerity and good will. He was a walking complexity. It didn't hurt that he was completely gorgeous either. I liked him. Smiling my best smile, I held out my hand.

'Hi, my name is Erica, it's nice to meet you.'

'My name is Ikataka Sojiro, but you can call me Soji.' He replied. He made a point of noticing my shopping bags, though of course he must have seen them already, 'Grocery shopping?'

I explained about my errands and how I'd been up and down looking for the right spices.

'So you're not from around here, then?'

'Nope, I mean, no. I was...well, you know as well as I do, how I got here.'

'Hn.' He said frowning. He seemed at a loss for words before seeming to rally his thoughts. 'You're okay, then? I mean with Him.' He glanced toward Pein's tower.

Looking towards the tower myself, I contemplated my answer. 'Yeah, I am. I've worked something out with them. It's fine.' I smiled reassuringly at him. He looked sceptical at first and I laughed and he followed.

'They're not so bad as they seem, then? The others?' he asked

I smiled. 'I wouldn't go that far but I'm alive aren't I... Let's talk about something else, okay?'

He agreed and we spent the next forty five minutes talking about all manner of things from Ame's history to the unfortunate man who had tried to ask Konan out. Afterwards, he walked me back to the tower. It was on that walk that I learned a little about him.

He had been a ninja since he was nine years old and not because he was a prodigy or anything but because the constant wars had killed out much of the adult male population. Many women had been drafted into the academy as numbers had dwindled and it had left many, many children without either parent. When things had begun to get truly desperate for the village forces, their leader decided to _make use _of all of the orphans he had previously ignored. The brave ones fled, finding hidden ways out of the city. The others, like Soji, stayed and became unwilling members of the ninja academy. He had two sisters, both younger than he was and had been determined to earn some money and keep them out of the fighting if he could. His father had been killed fairly early in the fighting and his civilian mother had become a medic to support the family. She too had been killed not long before his eight birthday.

'So, what happened to your sisters?' I asked stopping in the middle of the street. It was dark now and the wind was hard and cold. 'If you don't mind my asking that is.'

'No, I don't mind.' His lips smiled but his eyes were cold. 'I came back from a mission to find that they had both been sent to the Academy. They were six at the time and they didn't adjust well. They died not long after.' His smile flickered and was gone. He turned to look at me very seriously. 'I left after that. I ran away. I was a missing nin, a mercenary, for six years till Pein sama took back the village. He offered immunity and a place to belong for many outcasts and renegades, especially in those early days. It's why so many of us wear these.' He gestured to his headband with the rain village symbol and slash across it. 'Many of us are traitors and runaways from Amegakure who've finally come home.' He looked up at the sky.

'I'm sorry, about your sisters, about everything.' He turned to look at me sharply.

'I didn't tell you for you to feel sorry for me. I wanted you to know that sometimes the meanest bastards have very good reasons for being that way and that those in power aren't always good people.'

'And why did you want me to know that?'

He smiled suddenly. 'Obviously, because you're currently staying with a group of very bad people. I can safely say that no one I know, and I know some tough people, would sleep within a mile of that lot.' He gestured to the tower. 'Even if Pein sama is their leader, they can give a guy the creeps you know, especially the one with the funny eyes.'

I laughed and patted him on the arm. 'There there.'

We parted ways not long after. I hate to say it but even though it was one of the strangest, most depressing conversations of my life, I was sad that it was over. It made me aware of just how lonely I was. At home, I had close friends and acquaintances, family by the truckload (including a very protective mother), I'd had a boyfriend and I'd had Sam. Added in there, somewhere, were the millions of friendly people in the world who never had and never threatened or tried to kill me.

As I put the bags on the kitchen counter, I felt homesickness like I had never experienced. Outside, the rain was drizzling and my sense of ease and contentment vanished.

_I want to go home. I need to go home. I miss Sam._ I thought

Rather than cry like the big baby that I was, I made lunch, ate and went into my room to think about all the things I had learned from Soji. I knew that there was no way I was ever leaving the Akatsuki alive. If I wanted to get home or at least find Sam, I needed to get the hell out of here. To get the hell out of here, what I needed was a plan.

**Phew, another chapter out and done. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review, if you can.**


	16. An Unexpected Idea

**Hello my wonderful readers! :) **

**I want to thank those of you who added me to you alerts, favourited me and my story or reviewed; Random.d0.0b, Starslight21, LittleMissHatter, Kakashi Forever, AdelinaRose, shadowelf144, murderdollsfangirl, , zombie chow (kinda random, I know but I love your name) and Jaganshi Mori. Thanks a lot, guys. You make writing rewarding.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto cuz if I did Itachi would be reanimated by that jutsu Chiyo used and Sasuke would be the one to do it.**

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An Unexpected Idea

Juugo lifted his hand and the small bird that had been nestled comfortably in his palm took flight. He watched as it went up into the treetops before landing deftly in its nest. The large orange haired man sighed before turning to the growing ruckus his companions were causing.

'I'm going to tear you head off you blue haired bastard. At least I've been _doing _something instead of eating my weight in food everyday and lazing about!'

'Oh yeah? What have you been doing apart from leading us on a wild goose chase across the five nations? And don't think I haven't noticed how many hot springs and beaches we've come across! I don't think you have a fucking clue where Uchiha Itachi is!'

'What the fuck did you just say to me? It's not my fault his chakra keeps disappearing! He's like a fucking ghost, one minute it's there and the next, it's gone! How the fuck should I know should I know where he's going to be? And so what if we take the scenic route? Sasuke kun doesn't mind, so why should you?'

'Karin, be quiet.' Came Sasuke's quiet, venomous voice. 'Both of you waste too much time on nonsense. If you don't be quiet, I will kill you.' He said before going back to sharpening his kunai.

They both stared at him before turning back to each other and arguing much more quietly. They weren't sure if he was serious about killing them but they were sure they didn't want to find out.

'Sasuke kun needs me to find his brother, all you do is complain about being thirsty and not having enough swords.'

'Ha!' he said then glanced at Sasuke before lowering his voice 'Ha. You couldn't find Itachi if he was dancing naked in front of you.' The image was too much and Karin had to fight to keep her face in its angry lines. Suigetsu, who had a moment of imagining Itachi in a Hula skirt, couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. Juugo turned to stare at them curiously while Sasuke rounded on them with a glare.

'Karin, where is my brother?' he asked angrily, his voice a low growl.

Her fidgeting lips stilled. 'I..I don't know. The last I was able to sense him he was on the border of Grass more than a week ago. He disappeared after that.'

'I see. So you know nothing then?'

'Well, no..He's bound to turn up again, though, isn't he?' she added hopefully

'Yeah, sure, probably halfway across the fire kingdom again like last time.' Suigestsu added

'Hn! Well I'd like to see you do better. You worthless little...'

'His nest...we should find his nest.' Juugo added turning to look at the squabbling pair.

'What?' came Karin's voice as they all stared at him 'What are you talking about?'

Sasuke turned to the orange hair man 'Explain.'

The tall man seemed to gather his thoughts and a long moment passed before he spoke 'I have been thinking...

'That's monumental...' muttered Suigetsu

Juugo ignored him. 'Itachi is a master at masking his presence, yet for long stretches at a time he lets his presence be felt. He then disappears again without a trace before reappearing elsewhere far from where he had been. He is not...incompetent, so we have to assume that he wants us or anyone following him to know where he is at those points in time.'

'Not true. If we didn't have Karin, we wouldn't be able to sense his chakra from so far away. Not many people would be able to recognise his specific chakra anyway.' Added Suigetsu

'I know. I think he knows too. I think he wants _us_ to find him.' Juugo said.

'Then he should stay put now shouldn't he.' Karin added.

'Not if he wants to avoid Konoha nin or any of the other villages who want him dead' Suigetsu interjected

'Yes. I also think he disappears when on missions or if he's staying in the same place for any amount of time. We also have to assume that the Akatsuki must have a base somewhere. Just like us, they must have certain safe houses or places they stay when they move through an area.'

'I get it. So by knowing where he appears, we can have an idea of where he doesn't want us looking.' Karin said

'Yes but they may be missions or they may be safe houses and I'm sure they change their route fairly often.'

'But still we've been following the two of them for ages now haven't we? I'm sure that there's a pattern! Don't you think so Sasuke kun?' she asked hopefully

Without a word, Sasuke turned his back on them and began to walk away.

'Sasuke kun, where are you going?' she called out to him worry in her voice

He glanced back excitement sparking in his eyes. 'We need a map.' He registered shock on their faces and his lips twitched 'Something is better than nothing and since this is the best idea you've come up with...' He added before turning away from them.

'But we haven't finished resting yet!' Suigetsu called after him.

'Shut up you lazy ass! Let's hurry and catch up with Sasuke kun.'

They hurriedly disassembled camp before heading off to the nearest town.

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**Please review! **


	17. Practice and Psychos aka Round Two

**Phew! I have had an extremely busy weekend. I'm not sure if this qualifies as a short chapter or a long chapter. I do hope you enjoy it, though. Thank you to all of you who reviewed and alerted. I get giddy with every review I receive.**

**I do not own Naruto. If I did, there would be at least one girl in Konoha who thought Sasuke was a toad.**

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**Practice and psychos aka Round Two**

I took a deep breath and tried again. One step, two steps...three...I put my left foot out and then I fell.

'Umph! Ouch. Why is it always the fourth step?' I lay back on the sofa cushions and took a moment to catch my breath. Looking up at the stubborn, unscalable wall, I could only sigh. 'What am I doing wrong? Maybe I should try putting more chakra into it.'

Getting up I rubbed the newly created sore spot on my butt. Perhaps for the first time in my existence, I thanked God for the extra cushioning.

I closed my eyes and gathered chakra into the soles of my feet. I put one foot against the wall and felt it fuse and attach. Raising my second foot slowly I attached that one too. It was weird and uncomfortable to be horizontal off the ground like that. I took one step forward bringing both feet the same level. The pressure on my torso increased. I took another step. I started to feel like I was doing crunches. I took another step. I felt my hold weaken, focusing hard I forced more chakra into the soles of my feet. For a second it seemed to work and then I was falling backwards again. I felt the air knocked out of me for the millionth time that day. I had had enough. Walking gingerly over to the refrigerator I took out a bottle of water (I bought them and everyone drank them). Taking a deep breath I closed the fridge and froze. Standing in the doorway was a smirking white haired Jashinist. I backed up unconsciously. Still smirking, he propped his scythe against the door and walked slowly, predatorily in my direction. I moved backward, maintaining a steady distance between us. Opening the fridge he rooted around before taking out the bottle of orange juice (I bought it and everyone drank it). He then began opening cupboard after cupboard.

'There are cups in the shelf above the sink.' I said keeping my voice low. I wanted to do nothing more than run off to my room but I was very unwilling to put my back to him even for a second. He poured himself a full cup and leaned against the counter drinking my orange juice and staring at me. When he was finished he dropped the cup in the sink and turned to leave.

I was suddenly grabbed by the collar of my tshirt and pushed hard against the fridge. I felt my breath rush out of me. He smiled ferally at me. With his other hand he grabbed the hair close to my scalp and pulled hard forcing me to look him in the eye. I felt my knees weaken with fear and the pressure on my scalp increased painfully.

'Don't worry, I can't kill you,' He whispered, face close to mine. 'yet. Leader made that very clear but you should know I'm not much for following rules... Jashin will be pleased with your pain.'

I panicked. Struggling hard I managed to hit him hard across the face with my left hand. It snapped his head to the side but when he looked back at me, his expression wasn't one of anger, it was excitement. Grabbing me by the shoulders he shook me hard before slamming me against the fridge again. Momentarily stunned I was unable to react when his hands closed around my throat. Bringing his face close to mine he began to squeeze slightly. I felt the pressure begin to build as my blood was trapped in my face. My eyes started to tear up. I reached up and hit him again. The hit was weaker this time but his pleasure was distinct. It was disgusting. I tried to kick him but his lower body effectively pinned mine.

'Not so smug now, are we?' he asked as his hold tightened. I closed my eyes and focused. I brought my hands together and pushed them up between his arms. I put a lot of force (read chakra) behind the motion and managed to knock his hands off of my neck. Next, I feinted kicking him before using the distraction to run for my room.

It was the wrong thing to do. I was grabbed by the collar and tossed effortlessly to the floor where I slid to a stop against the window. He advanced then stopped, the sound of a cupboard door closing making him stop. We both looked behind him. Closing the last door, Itachi reached out and shook the orange juice carton before beginning his own search for a cup.

'The cupboard above the sink.' I managed to croak, startling myself.

He looked around Hidan at me. 'Thank you.'

Getting gingerly to my feet, I walked around the counter keeping Hidan within sight the whole time before all but running to my room. Once I was safely inside, I sank to the floor and began having the biggest panic attack of my life.

I spent the rest of that day hiding. I had been having such a good week too. I had never considered myself very domestic but cooking, cleaning, napping and practicing walking up walls had been fun. Interspersed with these experiences were conversations with Soji (who managed to find me often enough that it had to be stalking) and conversations with Konan and Kisame that didn't include death threats.

I crawled into bed feeling bruised and cranky. I hated hiding, I hated being afraid and the bastard was forcing me to do both. Growling softly to myself I forced myself to my feet and went back to the living room. To my relief and chagrin, Hidan wasn't there, so my grand gesture was wasted. Itachi, however was sitting by a window with a book in his hands.

'You're very stupid. Are you suicidal?' He said not looking at me.

'You're not one to talk.' I answered irritably.

'It would be better to avoid him. Hidan is unstable.' He looked at me then and his eyes went from blood red to black in an instant.

I sank down on the sofa. 'Tell me something I don't know. He is such a freak. I never knew that he was _literally_ a masochist...the perve.'

He returned to his book.

'Itachi, can I ask you something?' no response. 'Why is it so hard to walk up walls? I always get four steps up before I fall off. I know that I've only just started and it'll take a while to get stronger but still I should be able to get more than four steps up shouldn't I?' still no response.

When I decided that he wasn't going to answer, I got up to leave. I was almost at the doorway when he answered, 'Momentum. When you're learning, you need momentum.' before resuming his reading.

I returned to my room and tried to read for a while. When I accepted the futility of that endeavour I practiced running up the wall (with my mattress as a cushion) before giving up on that too and falling asleep.

**Review if you can.**


	18. The shit gets real

Hey, sorry for the lat post but I have had one hell of a week and not in a good way either. Anywho...I hope you enjoy.

I woke up to the feel of a foot nudging me in the ribs. It was Konan but not the Konan I had come to expect. This was the cold, unfriendly woman I hadn't seen since my first night in Amegakure.

'Get up, we have something for you to do.'

'What? Where are we going?'

'Dungeon.'

'Dungeon? Why?'

'Get up. Now.'

I got dressed and followed her soundlessly downstairs. We stopped in the large circular room on the ground floor and she pressed her hands to a portion of the wall. It slid open soundlessly revealing a stairway leading underground.

'Move.' She said stepping back to allow me to go ahead of her.

I took a deep breath of clammy stale air and started gingerly going down the stairs.

By the time I got to the bottom I was freezing. It seemed like we had been walking for a long time and the deeper we went, the colder it got. The steps had gone from dry and cool to wet and freezing. At the bottom of the stairs was a long corridor with cells on either side. The cells looked like they belonged in a maximum security facility of some kind; there were no bars, only solid metal doors with a small metal slot near the floor. They were all empty with their doors opening inward revealing nothing in the poor light. I counted 13 cells before we came to one that was occupied. There was dim light coming from an open doorway and I could see shadows moving within. I looked back at Konan who nodded to me. I took a deep breath and went inside.

I entered the room and stopped. Strapped into a chair and gagged was a woman who looked no older than I was. She had long dark hair and wide green eyes. She also had a steady stream of blood running down the side of her face and the visible portions of her face were a mottled reddish blue.

'Jesus...' I said.

Her eyes came up to meet mine. They blazed with a mix of despair and defiance. I wanted to leave right then and there. I turned and came face to face with Konan who effectively cut off any chance of escape. A sound drew my attention and I turned to see three figures materialise out of the gloom. The first is Deidara who comes just far enough near the light to be seen, the second is Hidan who moves to stand behind the chair, resting his bloody hands on the back of the chair and lastly there is Pein who moved to stand in front of me blocking my view of the woman. I raised my head and met his eyes.

'Erica, this is your final test. There will be no excuses and no preconditions. Prove that your life has value to us and I will make you a member of the Akatsuki. Tell me who she is and what her abilities are and you live. Fail me for any reason and you die.'

He held my eyes for a long moment, apparently trying to glare me into believing that he was serious. He needn't have bothered. The atmosphere was thick with tension just waiting to snap into violent motion. I was shaking with cold one moment and fear the next.

'I'm not even a ninja. You can't be serious.'I replied

To my surprise Konan rested her hand on my shoulder and whispered 'Just do it, everything will be fine.' I nodded mutely in response and moved robotically over to the woman. Pein took up his usual position next to Konan.

The first thing that hit me was the smell. There was blood and sweat mixed in with other more offensive things. My breath sped up till I was almost hyperventilating. Very gingerly I put my hand against hers where it lay limp against the armrest, right below the straps that held her down. The first thing I noticed was that her skin was cold and sweaty. I tried to calm my breathing and focus but every breath I drew made me more nauseous. I gathered chakra into my hands and prayed for a miracle not that I deserved another one but a person can hope. Nothing happened. I opened my eyes as I began to panic. The woman made a gagging sound and my startled eyes met hers.

For a second I felt nothing but then chakra rushed into my hand. Where our hands met felt like a bubble of force had developed or like two magnets pushing against one another. Then the bubble popped and I felt myself falling forward.

I found myself lying in a grassy field with a bright blue sky overhead. The breeze was strong and in the distance I could see mountains. Behind me a large forest loomed.

'Beautiful isn't it?' I jumped.

A young girl plopped herself next to me on the grass. She looked about eight or nine years old with long brown hair and unnaturally vivid green eyes.

'Shit.' I said

'Thanks for bringing me here. I haven't seen this place in eight years.' She lay back against the grass. 'It was probably the only thing I missed about being home. I used to come here with my Dad before he was killed. Mom would make us a picnic and the two of us would head out with my little brother. She would stay at home and sleep... and bake. They were good times.' She turned to look at me again. 'What do you need to know?'

'Who are you?' I asked breathlessly. 'And how did we get here?'

'You don't know? You brought us here, your chakra. I have to say, this is the best genjutsu I've seen in a very long time.'

'I didn't...'

'Yeah, you did, I felt it. I may not be able to use genjutsu myself but I've had it used on me at least a few times. No chance of adding some sake, is there? No? Oh well. As for who I am,' she sat up and offered me her hand 'Arisawa Kazumi, nice to meet you, though circumstances could have been better...I think you should ask me what you need to know before your chakra runs out, 'kay?'

'I don't understand. We were in that room, they ... tortured you. How could they? I shouldn't be helping them.' I was very confused. How could we be in a genjutsu I had created? As far as I knew genjutsu was more on the advanced side and I couldn't even get halfway up a wall. I was puzzling this out when she spoke again.

'Listen kid,' her voice was suddenly serious 'you heard the creepy guy, now_ is not the time to reason why, it is the time to do or die_...or something like that. Why are you helping them anyway? You don't seem like the power hungry type.'

'Honestly, I don't know. It started with a lie, I suppose but it's all out of proportion now.'

'I see. My story is kind of the same, you know, things blowing out of proportion.'

'You lied to the wrong person?'

'Well no, I helped the wrong person but I couldn't let them kill little kids, could I?'

I looked at her and scowled

'Thanks, I didn't think I could feel worse... congratulations.' She actually laughed at me then.

'We're running out of time. Let me give you the short version of my life and you can decide what to tell them afterward.'

I flopped back unto the grass. 'Why are you helping me?'

'There's no point in both of us dying, is there?'

I opened my eyes. The first thing I noticed was that I was very, very dizzy. I noticed that Kazumi's eyes were closed and her breathing was extremely shallow.

'What did you learn?' Pein asked

'Her name is...it's Arisawa Kazumi. She's a taijutsu specialist with rather weak ninjutsu.'

'Is that all?'

'No, she's a missing nin from Iwagakure. She fought Deidara two days before he met me in Mikan. He had been hired to take out a caravan headed from earth country to fire country. She had been hired by the caravan leader to protect it and she'd gotten close to the man and his family. When Deidara showed up, she decided to run, at least at first. She didn't want to die and she knew she couldn't beat him. When it became clear that he was going to kill everyone there, women and children as well, she tried to help. She didn't stand a chance against him. He detonated a series of explosives in the middle of their fight... It started a rock fall that killed everyone she had been trying to protect. She used the last of her chakra to get away and it seemed to her that Deidara decided not to pursue her.'

I swayed suddenly. My vision darkened and I found myself falling forward. I braced myself at the last minute and found myself almost face to face with the unconscious girl. Without meaning to I reached out and began fumbling with the cloth that was bound tightly across her mouth. Realising that I couldn't undo the knot, I tried pulling it down over her chin. It was then that I realised that there was something stuffed into her mouth, it felt almost like... I was pulled back, landing hard on the floor.

'Katsu!'

There was an explosion. I closed my eyes at the sound and the feeling of being bathed in hot liquid.

'You bastard!' shouted Konan 'Give us a fucking warning next time!'

I heard Hidan's laughter and Pein's quiet. 'We weren't done with her Deidara.'

The rest of the conversation was a blur. I think someone said something to me but all I could see was my hands covered in blood up to my elbows. My hair was dripping wet with it and heavier, thicker things. I glanced up at what had been a human being and began to throw up immediately. It was only when my stomach was completely empty did sound return to the world.

I realised that I was alone. I tried pushing myself to my feet but only succeeded in falling flat against the blood soaked floor.

I cried till I felt cold and hollow on the inside. It was only then that I found the strength to get up. I looked at the cooling body and finally felt nothing.

I felt myself leave the room and walk zombie-like down the corridor. I reached the stairs, stopped and frowned. For a second I thought I saw red eyes watching me from the darkness but decided that I didn't give a shit.

I began the slow, exhausting climb up to my room only to realise that I wasn't going to make it.

Sitting down on the cold stone, I stared at my hands. I felt my eyes prickle.

A woman was dead tonight.

I thought that I had been taking life here seriously but I clearly wasn't. I was now the member of an evil organisation who killed wantonly and indiscriminately and I didn't have a choice. If I wanted to continue living, I would have to do what they said. If I didn't want to find myself carefully and violently disassembled, I was going to have to become a cold and ruthless killer too. I couldn't do it. I _knew_ that I couldn't do it.

I forced myself to my feet. I climbed two stairs before the sparkles in front of my eyes widened and my world went white.


	19. The Girl

**Erica: *reads from script* Good night my good Sirs and Ladies. I welcome you to our latest presentation, a chapter entitled...The Girl?...What is...no I will not continue reading...is this about me?...Fine, after then...The author bids me read...Rhaps, this is stupid...bids, really? *sigh* Anyway, she wants you to know that she appreciates all the wonderful "fantastic awesome reviews" she's gotten especially OTURAN-IKAMUZU1, EmilyMichele01 and jadeismycolor. She also wants you to know that she has a ... a Beta. A "wonderful, fantastic, kind and generous" Beta named WingedMercury who began what is going to an uphill battle with Rhapsody's grammar. *throws away script*. **

**Anyhow, I hope you guys are enjoying the story. Don't forget to review...the author pines if she doesn't get at least three...kinda sad really...oh right, disclaimer. Rhapsody does not own Naruto or any of the characters in that series, if she did then Jiraiya would have gotten at least one good, hard... **

**Rhapsody: Don't say it!**

**Erica: ...kiss from Tsunade. **

**Rhapsody: ... right. Anyway, I know this one is short but I have posted two chapters tonight. Don't forget to review! **

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The Girl

(Itachi's POV)

I watched as she fell forward. I don't know what made me do it. I'm sure it wasn't kindness, compassion or empathy but I caught her, lifted her up and carried her quickly to her room. She was covered in blood but the smell had long ago lost its impact, so much so, that I barely noticed it. Laying her on the floor I stepped back and prepared to leave. I sensed rather than saw her move. She stood and made her way to the bathroom. Her motions were quick and efficient, completely at odds with her worn out state. Curious, I followed her. She was standing at the sink washing her hands, her eyes had the glazed look of a sleepwalker or the very ill. She shut off the faucet, turned away and began undressing. I frowned. She seemed completely unaware of my presence. I was about to leave when I felt her attack. I intercepted her kick, aimed at the back of my head and moved to push her back. Faster than possible for a civilian she flipped backward and tried to kick me in the face with both feet. I moved out of range and she fired a series of punches at me. I backed into her room and she followed. I was surprised by the fluidity of her movement and how quickly she reacted. Just as suddenly as it started, she stopped, turned and went back into the shower, closing the door behind her.

I stood there for a long moment thinking. She was, for all intents and purposes, a civilian yet she had a rapidly growing supply of chakra. She had no training, yet she moved with the swiftness, skill and condition of someone of at least chunin rank. She supposedly knew nothing of jutsu yet it was clear to me that she used one on the woman Deidara had captured. The sharingan doesn't lie; her chakra had passed through her hands and into the woman, altering the flow of chakra to her brain. It was very similar to what I had done to her. Was it a coincidence? I didn't believe that for a second.

Things were getting more interesting. I left her room as silently as I had entered it but the second I opened the door, I knew that I wasn't alone. I was being watched. The presence moved and then vanished.

So they still didn't trust me, even after all these years. It was all for the best, I suppose.

After all, I was going to betray them.


	20. Round Three!

Round Three!

I opened my eyes to find myself huddled and wet in the shower. For a long time, I couldn't remember where I was. When I remembered I groaned but all the sadness and pain of the night before seemed to have vanished. It worried me at first that I felt so little for someone who had died to save my life but I knew that had things been even slightly different, it would have been my body lying in that underground room.

I was lying in bed contemplating my predicament when there was a knock at the door.

'Come in.' I called out, not moving.

I looked up to see Itachi wearing only capris and a mesh vest. His sharingan was activated but he looked relaxed.

'What do you want?' I asked, sitting up.

'Your training begins this morning. Get up.' He said.

'What if I don't want to train?' I asked

'You don't have a choice. I expect you to be in the living room in five minutes or it will be Hidan who fetches you.' He said before leaving.

I was one step behind him.

True to Konan's prediction, the living room had degenerated to its previous condition. I stood in the doorway stretching and observing the bits of scattered food and muddy footprints. I felt my temper rise ... and swiftly. I wondered about that for a moment, but decided that maybe lack of sleep was making me cranky. I was about to ask Itachi what we were going to do when I felt Hidan behind me. Reacting faster than I would have thought possible, I rolled forward and spun on my heel to face him. I'd moved so fast that my hair twisted and tangled itself around my face and shoulders. Spitting hair out of my mouth, I looked over at his shocked expression. It melted away and was replaced by eagerness.

'I see you've learned some new tricks already. Let's see what else the Uchiha's taught you!' As he charged towards me, he pulled out a series of kunai and flung them at me. Two embedded themselves where my feet had been a moment ago but I was already moving. I backed up, glancing around for a weapon. I needed something to block kunai with. Everything was happening so quickly, I barely had time to react much less strategise. I rolled to the left as no less than six kunai went whizzing past my head. Then, time seemed to slow down, I saw the slowest of the six kunai approach my face, tilting to the side I caught it by sticking my finger through the ring. It swung around and I fitted it into my palm. Now, I was armed.

Hidan laughed out loud as I crouched low and prepared for his next attack. He backed up and grabbed his scythe which he must have left in the hallway. He fingered the chain lovingly. It was a long range weapon but the living room was too small for it to reach full length. He would have to hold onto the handle rather than swing it to attack which was a weakness for him, because it required both his hands. I smiled. I had a plan, unfortunately, it all hinged on his willingness to charge me again. He hung back, waiting for me to make my move. Dammit! I needed him to attack me...

'Hey stripper priest...'

'What? Who the hell are you calling a...'

'You. You look like an old stripper too, the kind that doesn't realise they're past their prime.'

'You're trying to make me mad, aren't you?' He smirked 'Not a fucking chance bitch. You think I'm stupid? I know you've got something up your sleeve.' He took the chance to fling three kunai at me, two aimed at either side of my head and one at my forehead.

I bent backward like in the Matrix and watched as they flew over me, flipping back as his scythe moved to slash my chest as I straightened. Instead of trying to move back, I blocked his blade with my kunai and, taking advantage of the opening, deftly moved my body up between his weapon and his chest. I planted the kunai between his ribs before grabbing him and flipping him back over my head. There was the sound of shattering glass and a string of loud curses fading into the distance.

I stood up and pretended to dust of my hands, a big smile plastered on my face. It was only then that I remembered that I wasn't the only person in the room. Itachi had taken up space against the furthest wall from the kitchen and was looking very blank.

'Well, that didn't work exactly as I planned it but...' I glanced at the broken window and shrugged. I looked at Itachi. 'Is that it for the day?'

I went over to fridge and began drinking juice straight from the carton. I felt badass as I leaned against the fridge, drinking my juice and waiting. After a long moment, he pushed himself away from the wall.

'No, that was your warm up.' I could hear the smile in his voice even though his face didn't change.

'Warm up? I totally kicked Hidan's lily white ass, that was not a warm up; that was badassery.' I paused after I said that and wondered for a moment what the fudge was wrong with me. I was having an attack of the OOC's in a big way.

I finished the carton of juice and dropped the empty box in the sink.

'It isn't. Hidan let you beat him...' he said stopping opposite me with the counter between us.

'So, you're saying that he let me stab him in the heart and throw him through a 10 story window?'

'Yes.'

'Bullshit. Why the hell would he do that?'

Itachi looked at me like I was an idiot but before I could respond Konan interrupted with a

'What the hell happened here?'

Training was postponed after that. A very pissed off Konan began enlisting people to fix and install a new window. I was put on cleaning duty as punishment (although she would probably have made me do it anyway). New rules were instituted to the extent that absolutely no training (read rough housing) was allowed inside the tower. I got the feeling that that rule already existed and was dutifully ignored by all.

Hidan returned 20 minutes later looking pissed off and exhilarated. I had to agree with Itachi. The creep looked like he was having the time of his life.


	21. Notice

Hey guys, sorry but no chapter this week. My exams have started and I'm swamped with work. I may not be able to post anything till closer to the end of the month. I didn't want you guys to think that I'd stopped writing or anything. Sorry, again... I'll be back.


	22. On the move

**I am alive! Yay! Even better, I have a very long chapter for you. I hope you enjoy it. I have worked harder on this one chapter than I worked on at least one of my exams...uh...I mean...So, more than 3000 words, wow... Thanks goes to my wonderful Beta Wingedmercury who helped me edit this chapter even though she was super-busy this week and thank you all for your patience and for reading my story. **

* * *

Itachi stopped and without any warning, dropped me. I landed hard but barely felt it; I was getting unfortunately used to pain. My ear still hurt. He surveyed the clearing before completing a series of hand seals and creating four more shadow clones. Two turned into replicas of me. I was horrified to see that I looked like a bedraggled, bleeding, shocked and windblown homeless person. Groaning I flopped back unto the grass. I was not going to make it out of this rescue alive. When I looked at him again, the clones were gone and Itachi was leaning against a tree looking attractively enigmatic.

"Itachi, what the hell are you doing?"

No answer.

"Okay, fine, don't tell me. I think I can guess anyway. You won't even have to answer, just nod or grunt or whatever."

Still no response.

I sighed. "Okay, I'll take it from the top, this is what I think is going on... You woke me up this morning when everything was already in place. You used the ruse of 'training' me to get me away from the tower and the others without arousing suspicion. After yesterday, they wouldn't want me doing anything more athletic than dusting and no one would question excluding Hidan...though I can't imagine why they chose him to train me anyway ..." he had turned to look at me and had the same you-are-an-idiot expression that he seemed to use a lot. 'Ok, right. Anyway, I assume that you assessed Ame's defences at some point and pinpointed the least guarded sections of wall or knew what time the guards changed or something...How am I going so far?" I asked

His head lowered a fraction of an inch which I took to mean that I was at least partially right. I continued. "You woke me up, got me out of the tower and bought me breakfast...thanks by the way, I would have been starving by now if you hadn't. I didn't eat anything last night and..." a flicker of impatience "yes, so we made our way to the relatively unguarded section of wall, then there was the explosion. I don't think you guys have remote detonation devices here so I can only assume you sharinganed someone into setting it off. After that, it was a quick jump over the wall and a short run to the forest. We ran along the river to prevent a scent trail and the shadow clones are to lay a false trail in case we were followed somehow. Hmm... I think that's about it. Oh! How could I forget? When the bomb went off, you pulled my fucking earring out of my fucking ear! Like I needed another scar!" I huffed angrily for a bit before calming down. "In all fairness, Pein could have killed me with it so I can't really hold that against you...sigh, did I miss anything?" For a long moment I wasn't sure that he would respond but he pushed himself slowly away from the tree and walked over to me. Reaching into the pouch at his side, he pulled a small familiar container and held it out to me.

"Thanks." I said taking it. I opened it and began applying the stinging cream to my lobe.

"It was a good assessment." He said returning the container to his pouch.

"Thank you, I was plotting to escape so some of this stuff had occurred to me. Why didn't you wait till it was raining though? Wouldn't that have given us more cover?"

He shook his head slightly. "Pein can see anything the rain touches."

'Oh...ok." _How the hell could I have forgotten that?_ "Where are we going? And why are you helping me? Is it because of what I know?"

Instead of answering he glanced at the sky."We have to move now. Get up."

_Oh no, not again._ "Um... Can I walk this time? Please? I don't...well, I'm sure it isn't comfortable for you either."

"It is the fastest method." He said turning around and standing absolutely still.

I swallowed hard. Oh dear god, not again I thought but I did it anyway. Within minutes we were flying through the trees with my legs wrapped tightly around his waist and my arms around his shoulders. I hadn't ridden piggyback since I was nine and I wasn't enjoying the experience. Pressing my over-heated face into his back, I tried to ignore how warm he was and his oddly sweet scent. I must have made some sound because he tensed and his hands on my thighs twitched slightly. I was 100% sure that he was thinking of dropping me. We were at least 50 ft off the ground and I really didn't want that.

"Sorry." I muttered.

He was still tense and I was beginning to realise that maybe it had nothing to do with me. He jumped from the tree and unto the grass. I slid down and squinted. We were at the edge of a large clearing and we weren't alone. Approaching at the other side was a group of people who stopped suddenly. I was about to ask who they were when he suddenly pushed me roughly to the side and half a dozen shuriken embedded themselves in the tree behind me.

Sasuke sat and listened, ignoring the spark of excitement in his chest. He knew far too well that all expectation led to disappointment. He closed his eyes and relished the soothing lack of light. He interrupted when it became clear that the man was going off topic.

"That is enough. You can go." He said sitting up and tossing a small pouch of coins at the man.

"Thank you, thank you sir. My wife and children..."

"Just go." He said.

He was beginning to get another headache. He could feel it building up like electric pressure behind his face.

"What does it mean, Sasuke kun?" Karin asked

"Well it's obvious, slut. There was an explosion in Mikan, a serious explosion caused by an unknown blond man and a young dark haired woman. It sounds just like that guy from the Akatsuki...Deidara or something like that. He..."

"I get that and call me a slut again and I'll cut off what makes you a man, got it?" Karin responded

"My, aren't we pms-ing today." He said closing his legs unconsciously. The redhead hadn't eaten for the day and she looked ready to take his head off. It never failed to puzzle him that a woman can be starving and cranky and still choose not to eat. And it wasn't just the crazy ones like Karin either; even seemingly normal women weren't immune to that kind of insanity. "He doesn't have a partner anymore, so maybe she's the replacement? It could be a coincidence, what do you think, boss?" Suigetsu asked turning to Sasuke.

"We go to Mikan. This could be the lead I've been waiting for." He got up and left without a word.

Suigetsu turned to Juugo who was staring at their newly purchased map with a look of despair.

"Tough luck, I guess we won't be testing that idea of yours after all." He patted the big man on the arm and followed Sasuke.

Karin was starving but she was determined to lose another six pounds by the end of the month and nothing was going to stop her. Her stomach growled piteously as she turned to Juugo.

"Well, it probably wouldn't have worked anyway."

Without another word she took off after the man she was in love with and the man she wished would fall off a cliff into a volcano. Juugo stood still for a moment before picking up the package of multi-coloured pins and following after them.

They arrived in Mikan and immediately split up. Karin was told to check the site of the bombing, and since Deidara's bombs were infused with his chakra she would find residual chakra in the wreckage if he was indeed the bomber. Sasuke headed into the less reputable areas of town to see what he could learn from the locals. Juugo and Suigetsu were sent to replenish their supplies with instructions that if anything went wrong (Juugo going crazy and trying to kill someone, for example) that Suigetsu was to trap the man in the water prison and send a clone to find him. Suigetsu, for his part, wasn't sure how effective a water prison might be against the originator of the curse seal but decided to trust Sasuke's judgement.

After buying food and medicine and refilling their water bottles, the pair stopped for a much needed rest in a small, grubby tavern. It was almost empty at midday and the tall, one eyed barman slept (and snored) behind the bar. They took a table near the entrance to maintain watch and took the time to relax. Suigetsu was drifting off when the rustle of paper brought him back awake. Juugo was quietly unrolling the map. After using some tacks to pin the edges to the table, he began to scan it carefully. After a few moments he took a small red topped pin and placed it on the border between Fire and Grass. He repeated the process adding pins nearer to the borders of Fire and River and Fire and Rain. He paused and added one in land of Tea and one near the border of the land of Wind and River country. Siugetsu watched as he added even more pins before stopping.

"That's all I remember" He said, almost to himself. Then he looked at Suigetsu who sighed and got up. Standing next to him he adjusted a few of the pins, moving them closer to where he remembered Karin indicating and then adding a few of his own. After defeating Orochimaru in Sound and bringing together his team, they had travelled to Waterfall and then to Earth gathering intelligence on Earth and spreading the word of Orochimaru's defeat. Well...at least Suigetsu did. Sasuke never seemed to care one way or another but Suigetsu knew that he wanted word to get to his brother. He figured that Sasuke wanted his brother to know that he was ready now to settle the score between them.

Taking a long gulp from his water, the blue haired man contemplated the differences between his relationship with his brother and the one Sasuke had with Itachi. It never failed to amuse him. He was from Mist, long reputed to be the harshest place to be born and become a ninja. He remembered killing his best friend on the day he graduated and doing it with a smile on his face. Despite this, it was Sasuke's brother who had massacred their clan and then deserted; Sasuke, who was born into the peace-loving, butterflies and candy village of Konoha. Scratching his head, he took another long drink before sticking another few pins into the map.

Karin stopped to admire a bright blue dress in the window. It was a loose, flirty thing that the harsh girl would never dream of wearing but it was several long minutes before she got moving again. She was still hungry but she was holding out for dinner time, sure that Suigetsu would have bought something fatty but delicious. The site of the explosion wasn't hard to identify. In the better district there were approximately three decent sized hotels and one of them was missing the roof and the top floor. To avoid drawing attention to herself, she circled the block looking at stores and at last buying a small bun. Standing under the small awning of the stall she closed her eyes and opened up her senses. She could immediately feel the chakra of everyone around her. She unconsciously filtered out the civilians with their weak chakra systems and brought her attention to the building before her.

Within minutes she had her answer, the chakra residue corresponded with Deidara of the Akatsuki. She had sensed his presence a few times in the past and knew it well enough to say for certain. She sensed no other strong signatures in the building. Now to look for Sasuke, she thought, expanding her range. She froze and her heart sped up. She found Juugo and Suigetsu close to the outskirts of town and she located Sasuke in the opposite direction near the town's entrance. She also picked up the signature of four strong shinobi. One was at least jounin level, two others were chunin or thereabouts and one, here heart skipped a beat, was definitely a jinchuuriki. Well shit! She thought.

Finishing her bun, she headed out to find Sasuke and warn him. Every few minutes she would scan the area for the location of the enemy shinobi. She was very lucky, she thought, to have her ability. Had it been anyone else, they would have given away their location the instant they began searching for someone else's.

It is a little known fact that when a shinobi is hiding his chakra, it is impossible for him to actively search for the chakra signature of another. It's a little like playing battleship; you know where your pieces are but you don't even know if you have an opponent. In Karin's case, she had the ability to sense chakra without being sensed herself. It was one of the main reasons Sasuke had chosen her to be in his group. He would be able to hide his chakra effectively but not be blind to other ninja...at least other ninja who weren't shielding or couldn't shield completely.

Sasuke contemplated his options. He had been able to confirm the events the old man had told him in Himitsu. He had also been able to extract a bit more that hadn't made it into the gossip mainstream yet. The man, a local thug and bar owner, had claimed to have seen a man matching Deidara's description meeting with two other 'mean looking bastards' at his premises the night of the explosion. He hadn't dared to get closer but as the blond got drunker, his voice had raised enough for him to make out words like 'kill', 'Tobi' and 'girl' before the white haired of the two had said something that seemed to piss the blond off. Not too long after, they'd all gotten up and left. From the man's description or lack of description in one case, Sasuke was fairly certain that Deidara had met with two other members of the Akatsuki, Hidan and Kakuzu. He knew next to nothing about the two but hoped that Suigetsu would know more. Alone, in the street with his head throbbing, he allowed himself a small smile. He had spent months without any word of his brother or the Akatsuki, and now he had a potential lead to three of them.

He felt someone watching him and looked up in time to see Karin round the corner, an urgent look on her face. He wiped his own of any emotion, lest she think he was happy to see her and waited for her news.

"Sasuke kun, we have a problem."

Sakura stopped, waiting as Pakkun sniffed the air around a small stall. He was a ninken and was very well trained; if he stopped, it meant that he had found something.

"What is it Pakkun?" she asked hands on hips.

The mutt watched her carefully. "I smell Sasuke."

"What?" the pink haired girl asked dumbly

"I am picking up trace scents of Sasuke on someone else's scent. It's fresh too, less than a day old."

"Do you recognise the person?"

"No."

"Follow it." She created the necessary hand signs to create a clone and sent it to find Kakashi and the others.

Hatake Kakashi finished talking to the old woman and made his way back to boys. Naruto looked bored and eager to be away but Sam looked anxious.

"What did she say?" He asked running a hand through his cropped hair

"Same as the others. They came into the village, went to the hotel and that night the top floor blew out."

He saw the younger man's face fall before resuming its new, carefully neutral lines.

"Ok. I'm a fool aren't I? This was a waste a time."

Naruto heard him and clapped him hard on the back nearly knocking the taller man over "Eh! Don't give up hope. I'm sure she's fine. You just have to believe that. We'll find her and bring her back with us, bel...I mean, it'll happen for sure..." He finished awkwardly and Kakashi smiled.

They were about to go look for Sakura when one of her clones ran up to them. The clone was panting which meant that it had expended a lot of chakra in getting there and was very excited about something. Sam was the first to react.

'What's the matter? Did something happen to Sakura?' he asked urgently

'No. No, Sas...Sasuke kun. We found his trail in the village. Naruto,' she said turning to the blonde 'He's here.'

The blonde didn't even wait to find out what else the clone had to say, he took off making the kage bunshin seals as he did. Sam wanted to facepalm (as Erica had always called it). With a sigh he took after Kakashi who was already trying to catch up with village idiot.

Pein was furious. Amegakure had been breached. His organisation, in which he felt great pride and hope, had been betrayed. And his wall, the symbol of his village's defence, had a goddamn hole in it! He rubbed his forehead wearily. The worst, though, the absolute worst was that there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He called himself a god at times but he had never felt more of a man. Itachi's dramatic defection had left his village open to threat from both outside and inside the village. He had eliminated everyone connected to the original leadership of the village, (including children and dogs) but there were still factions that were discontented and waiting for the chance to attack. The whole village was under curfew and the rain was falling. It would continue to fall until the men were able to repair what was a gaping hole in their defences. He clenched his fists. He wanted very badly to go after Itachi but the strain of the Rinnegan meant that his physical body was too sickly to travel. He could send his other bodies but they wouldn't be able to travel far enough to track down the traitor down, especially if he was headed to Konoha as Pein suspected. It was an untenable situation and it was pissing him off.

"Konan..."

"Nagato, I am not leaving you in this mess."

"I am fine. You can track them down in less time than it will take anyone else and I can trust you to deal with him when the time comes. Do this for me." He turned to look at her. They were in the hidden chamber at the top of the tower, so it was his withered body and blazing eyes that met hers.

"I am sorry," she said "but no, I will not." Her expression hardened. Nagato sighed. In front of everyone else, Konan was the model of servitude and obedience. In private, she was his only living friend and closest ally. If she did not wish to leave him, there was no way he could force her.

"Is there any reason for this sudden treason Konan?"

"Yes, the prediction. Surely you know who she is referring to."

"If she is telling the truth, then yes, I do."

Konan had been worried about the girl's prediction of her death. There was only one man she knew who had a penchant for masks and the jutsu the girl described had been created just for him. The fact that Nagato was going to die (she knew it had to be him and not Yahiko) meant that something had gone wrong with their arrangement with Tobi. She had never trusted him but had trusted Nagato's judgement. Now she wasn't sure. She had finally voiced her concern to him after sending Tobi on a mission to locate the Sanbi. Neither of them trusted the girl or Itachi and weren't sure if they believed her that her ability functioned exactly as they had claimed. However, they were used to betrayal and it would be shocking if Tobi didn't have his own hidden agenda.

"Summon Kisame, Kakuzu and Hidan. I will send them after Itachi and the girl."

"Kisame is the best tracker after Itachi and Kakuzu is reliable but is it wise to send Hidan? His infatuation with Erica seems to have grown stronger. It may interfere with the mission."

Nagato was thoughtful for a moment. "I doubt it. Whatever else Hidan is, he is obedient. His feelings will not stop him from satisfying his God and completing the mission. My main concern is actually Itachi. We need to get her back and I'm not sure that we can. Itachi may be unpredictable but that makes him a brilliant strategist. We have very little chance of catching him off guard so we will have to distract him sufficiently to retrieve the girl. If the three of them can't do that, either Itachi will get away or he will kill the girl to prevent her ability from returning to our hands."

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**Review if you can. :) **


	23. Rushing In

**No excuses, I messed up. I should have posted this chapter at least a month ago but it's been one thing after another. One thing I learned was that it is much easier to write a whole story first and post it than it is to do it chapter by chapter, even if you already know how things are going to happen. I worked really hard on this chapter, I hope you enjoy it. I'm sorry this is so late in coming. **

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By the time I got to my feet he had already walked away. _Damn he was a fast walker_ I thought. He was already halfway across the field. A dark haired blur of an individual detached itself from the group and moved towards him. Wait a minute... a group of four; one red head, one with dark hair, one with white and one with ...orange?

"Well Shit," I said

I watched as the figures met, converging on what I bet was the exact centre of the clearing. I couldn't see Itachi's face but I could see Sasuke's; it was as expressionless as ... well, as Itachi's usually was. Even so, his eyes were scarlet with the sharingan and the color alone made him look fierce.

The breeze rushed across the clearing carrying Itachi's voice back to me.

"Hello little brother."

"Are you ready to stop running now, you coward?" Sasuke responded

Itachi simply nodded and they both froze. I knew that they were probably engaged in a battle of genjutsu but to me it looked like the most epic staring contest ever. Were they really going to fight this out now? What happened to getting me back to Konoha? That bastard, he meets one long lost brother and forgets all about me.

"Hey!" I yelled and started running "Stop that! No fighting!"

I knew that my reaction was ridiculous. I was putting myself in the middle of a fight that simply had to happen. I even understood that it was what both men wanted but I just couldn't let it happen. It wasn't just my selfish desire to make it to Konoha alive and see my best friend again. Everything about Sasuke killing his brother, who had protected him the best he could, was simply wrong. I couldn't let it happen, not if I could prevent it.

I was within 10 feet of the two when a figure blurred into my path, blocking me. It was Suigetsu. I stopped and looked past him, panting. Taking deep breaths I felt for my chakra within me and sent it rushing into my legs. I didn't want to fight...okay, let's face it, Hidan aside, I couldn't beat a ninja much less one made of water.

"Uh, Suigetsu...no chance of you just moving out of my way, is there? I mean, this really isn't your fight." I said using my most reasonable voice.

He grinned at me, revealing pointy teeth. "No. Fight me!"

I frowned. What was it with ninjas and fighting? "I think not. I'm actually trying to stop a fight right now. You like Sasuke, right?"

It was his turn to frown. I guess asking a guy if he liked another guy was considered weird here too. "As a friend, you respect him as a ninja or whatever at least?" He reached back and drew Zabuza's sword "If you care about him at all, you won't let him fight his brother. Either he'll die and you guys will be leaderless and directionless again or he'll kill his brother and become an emotional wreck. I don't think you want either of those things to happen, so..."

"You're an idiot. I'll make this quick." He rushed me his sword swinging horizontally, angled to take my head off.

I pulled back so fast, I fell on my ass. No time to think, I rolled to avoid a strike that would have cut my chest open. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! Why were people always trying to kill me? He was closer to me now than before, swinging his blade above his head, arms bulging with grotesque muscle growth. He swung down again, faster this time and I rolled out of the way in the opposite direction.

Whoosh, thud! I stopped my face inches in front of its reflection, his sword embedded in the grass right where my head would have been. The bastard was playing with me! Oooh, I hated ninjas! He was laughing now. I rolled unto my back and pushed myself to my feet. With slow deliberation he pulled the sword free and our eyes locked.

"I always thought the Akatsuki were supposed to be strong. You're disappointing me." He swung the sword up to rest the dull edge on his shoulder, the sharp edge glistened.

I panted. "No need for disappointment, waterboy, I'm not an Akatsuki. Hell, I'm not even a ninja."

"Really?" He swung suddenly, faster than I could see and faster than I could move to avoid. The blade stopped inches from my throat.

"How do I know you're not lying. You could wait till I turn my back and then slit my throat." he said. The giant blade was a still silent threat. Wrong answer and I was a goner.

"I don't know how to respond to that," I said

Behind him, Sasuke moved suddenly flinging shuriken at Itachi who leapt effortlessly out of the way. The shuriken came flying towards us. Suigetsu turned and deflected them with the flat of the blade. Seeing my chance, I moved to run around him and was suddenly airborne, strong arms wrapped around my torso. By the time I got my hair off my face, my feet hit ground and I was released.

"Erica!" then I was grabbed again, this time in a breath constricting hug.

"Sam?" I looked up at him and for a long moment I couldn't believe it was him. "Sam!" I sobbed and threw my arms around him burying my face against his chest.

"Erica, are you alright? Are you hurt?" He tried to look at my face but I clung to him like a starving leech. When I finally relented, he took my face in his hands and looked down at me. I looked up to meet his eyes. Before I could speak, his expression changed to puzzlement and then something that looked like rage. He glanced over to where Itachi and Sasuke were trading shuriken and kunai.

"Did _he_ do this?" he asked

I was about to ask him what the hell he was talking about when he ran roughened thumbs over my cheeks, more specifically over the scar ridges on my cheeks.

"Oh those," I said but before I could explain there was a sudden rush of very hot air. I yelped and he pulled me to his chest and turned, shielding me from the heat with his body.

The blast stopped as suddenly as it started and he released me. Behind us between the Uchihas was a patch of charred grass.

"SASUKEEEEE! TEME BASTARD! I'M TAKING YOU BACK TO KONOHA!" came an ear splitting yell

I grinned automatically. Naruto sounded just like he did in the anime.

"Sakura, stop him!"came another familiar voice

I glanced over at the leader of Team 7 who had grabbed Naruto and was trying to keep him from rushing unto the field.

"Naruto, we talked about this," he said, his voice a tiny bit breathless. Naruto's eyes were turning red and the air around him seemed to ripple like heat. "We don't interfere unless Sasuke is in trouble. We have a plan remember?"

"But that bastard is fighting Sasuke! What if they disappear again? What if that bastard kills Sasuke!" He struggled harder and I could see why, Itachi and Sasuke were moving steadily (still fighting, of course) across the field and towards the western edge of the forest. Naruto managed to get his hands together and a clone appeared between him and Kakashi. He pulled away from his sensei but only made it a few feet before a small gloved fist collided with the back of his head. He face planted in a way that didn't look possible and the clone poofed.

"Sakura chan, I told you to disable him, not kill him. Will..."

"He'll be conscious in a few minutes. Nothing short of this will stop him from interrupting sensei."

"I know. Sam, you and Sakura tie him to that tree, it won't hold for long but maybe it'll give him enough time to calm down and see this rationally." Kakashi said pulling rope from his pack.

Sam said chuckled "Naruto... see Sasuke fighting Itachi rationally?"

For a moment I felt awkward. There was a sense of comraderie and friendship in this small group that I was not a part of. I looked at Sam, the same and yet so different and then away. I glanced back to the fight to see Itachi and Sasuke were almost at the edge.

"Um..." Kakashi turned to look at me but as my eyes met his ... eye, I realised that I didn't know what to say. "They're getting away." I added "Shouldn't we try to stop them or... catch up to them or something? What if someone gets hurt?"

"That's part of the plan actually." He said his voice light and completely at odds with the situation "There's nothing to worry about."

"Part of the plan?"

"Yeah," said Sam as he tightened a knot that effectively cocooned Naruto against the tree. "Let Itachi and Sasuke fight it out. When Sasuke kills his brother, we capture him and take him back to Konoha."

"We only intervene if Sasuke is in serious danger. Otherwise, we leave him to kill the bastard," Sakura finished darkly

"That's a terrible plan! You can't let Sasuke kill his brother! Are you insane!"

The three conscious members turned to look at me as though I'd grown a second head that looked like Nikki Minaj. "Sam," I said turning to him "we have to stop this fight. You have to trust me on this." I looked to Kakashi who was eying me speculatively. To my surprise it was Sakura who spoke.

"Uchiha Itachi is a murderer. He killed his entire clan. Sasuke deserves to kill him." She said earnestly.

I met their eyes in turn and saw only hardened determination.

"You don't understand..." I began

"Sam, I think you should take her to Mikan, Sai should be there by now. Go with him and make sure she gets back to Konoha safely. We can't risk her falling back into Akatsuki hands."

"Hai sensai, come on Erica." He held his arms open to me but i ignored him, instead I turned to Kakashi.

"This is wrong. Itachi doesn't deserve to die like this." His facial expressions simply switched off. Seeing my mistake, I tried to correct it. "Listen, Itachi isn't who he pretends to be. There's a lot more going here than what's on the surface. He's..." Sam was looking at me with a very strange expression and I realised that they thought I was...uh, seduced or something.

"Maybe we should leave now, Erica." Sam said reaching out to take my arm. I pulled away. "I'm sure everything will be fine but you're a civilian..."

"Sam, shut up. You need to know this." I met Kakashi's eye and took a deep breath. I needed to do this right. "Hatake Kakashi, ninja prodigy, student of the fourth hokage, also known as the copy ninja. You inherited your sharingan from Uchiha Obito, your team mate who was killed on your first mission as a jounin. Your father was the legendary White Fang and for a long time you were ashamed of him because he broke the ninja code or something." Okay, I thought, that was insensitive.

Kakashi looked at me blankly but that very moment Naruto's eyes popped open.

"But Saku...eh?" he had a dazed look and a bright red swelling on his temple. Unable to move, he turned his head slowly and spotted Sasuke and Itachi. His face hardened with determination.

"Sakura..." Kakashi said

She promptly walked over to Naruto and clonked him on the head again. He passed out. Sam, seeing my horrified expression, spoke.

"Don't worry about him, Naruto heals very quickly."

"I know that. It's because he's a jinchuuriki but that's not the point..."

"Sasuke!" came a panicked screech

I turned to the voice (Karin) and then looked to Sasuke and Itachi who had both stopped on the far edge of the clearing. Sasuke had drawn his sword at some point and Itachi had a kunai in each hand. They were both staring at a spot near where we had emerged from the forest.

"Oh my God, are they...?" Sam asked but I answered before any of Team 7 could.

"Yeah. Akatsuki members...Hidan, Kakuzu and Kisame..."

Hidan spotted me and called out over the deafening silence, "Hey babe! Did you miss me?"

I couldn't help it. I took a step back. What were the odds that this would happen? A million to one? A billion? I looked back to the members of Team Taka. At some point, Suigetsu had rejoined his team mates so the three were huddled at the north edge of the clearing. All the same, I could see Suigetsu assessing the new group and showing special interest in Kisame. Karin looked terrified but her gaze flicked constantly from Sasuke to Itachi and then to the Akatsuki members. Juugo stood behind the other two looking weary but unafraid. I turned to Itachi to see that the brothers were moving apart. Sasuke was saying something to Itachi who, I think, nodded in response. Sasuke began moving away and towards his team. What the hell was going on here? Itachi turned to me his red eyes visible even from so far away. He looked at me for a long moment before turning towards his former team. I got the feeling that he had been trying to tell me something but I skipped meaningful glances in high school.

"Give us the jinchuuriki and the girl and you can leave." Kakuzu called moving towards us. Behind him, Hidan followed but Kisame stood leaning against Samehada his eyes fixed on Sasuke and his team. "As for you," He turned to Taka, his yellow eyes seeming more ...abnormal in daylight "Shoo!"

"Erica," Sam said taking my hand an tugging at it "We need to go and we need to go now."

His looked alarmed but not scared. Naruto was awake and casting glances at Sasuke. Kakashi was studying Kakuzu as he approached us. Sensing my gaze, he turned to me.

"We don't have much time. If you have something important to say, something that can help us, now would be the time."

Oh boy, I thought, where do I start?

There was a sudden gust of air that flattened the tops of the trees and sent their leaves whipping past us. High above us, riding a huge clay dragon was Deidara.

"You didn't think I'd just stay behind, did you, un?" he looked down at us and singled out Itachi "Today, I'm going to show you the meaning of true art!"


	24. Deliberate Harm

**Hi, I know this chapter is a lot shorter than it usually is but I have another one to post later in the week. Hopefully my update schedule should be a little more regular from now on. Thanks go to Wingedmercury my beta, without whose intervention this chapter would be a lot crappier. Also thank to all of you who reviewed. I read and appreciate every single one. Also, someone pointed out that there really hasn't been any romance between the characters that I put in my description i.e. Kakashi and Itachi. I'm sorry if that nothing has happened as yet but when I started I intended to have a KakashixOC story with Itachi dying nobly in the cause of protecting Konoha (like he was supposed to) but damn, despite my best intentions my story has run away with me. Also, the damn thing wasn't supposed to be this long. I think I know exactly how the plot resolves itself but the relationship stuff continues to surprise me. Blah! Enough monologue, enjoy the chapter and if I don't post by next Thursday, may Kabuto use me in his next experiment.**

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I spent the next minute of my life swearing and cursing whatever not so benevolent god had decided to dump me in this place. I was therefore unresisting when Sam scooped me up in his arms and took off into the trees.

_Why me? Why was all of this happening to me_? I saw trees rush by and felt the wind. I ground my teeth together. _This whole thing wasn't fair. Why the hell was I here if all I did was get threatened and cry? This sucks!_

"Sam! Take me back. I am not running away from this!"

"What? No! And don't talk to me, I need to concentrate."

"Sam! Put me down!"

He opened his mouth to reply and then he wasn't there anymore. I fell. Before I could hit the ground someone caught me. When I saw who it was, I couldn't help it, I screamed. Hidan grinned at me and then dropped me the remaining four or so feet. I skittered backward and got to my feet.

"Not so cocky now, are you?" he said

"Where's Sam? What have you done to him?" He smiled wider and shrugged

"Shouldn't you be more worried about what I'm going to do to you?" He said as he walked towards me

I glanced around me; forest, forest, forest and you guessed it, more dense forest. Since it had been working well enough so far, I felt for my chakra and gathered it in my limbs. I don't know if it was because I was tired, hungry or because of my little spat with the human jellyfish but it felt weaker. The faint buzz it created only made the rest of my body feel more tired. I swallowed hard, this was bad.

"Where is Sam?" I asked

He flung a kunai to his left and I heard splintering wood. I saw Sam fall as though in slow motion. He landed with a thud on the forest floor and lay motionless.

"Sam!" I screamed and ran towards him.

Hidan , not to be ignored, grabbed me by the hair and tugged. I screamed as he closed his hand against my throat and slammed me against a tree. I had the disconnected thought that this seemed to be a trend with him before my focus returned. I really wished it hadn't. He was too close. That was the first thing that I thought. I could see the striations in his pretty purple eyes and feel his hot breath against my mouth..._wait, what_? His lips touched mine tentatively, surprisingly soft. My open eyes met his and he smiled against my mouth. It was the most frightening moment of my life till then. His body that had been very carefully not touching mine was suddenly crushed against me. His mouth pressed harder and in panic I bit down hard into his bottom lip. He pulled back, growled and pressed harder into me. His hands, which had been pinning my arms to my side, squeezed making me yelp. His lip was bleeding now. He leaned in again and my helpless struggles intensified. I tried to kick him but he was too close. I tried to pull my hands free but couldn't.

Itachi was right. He _had _been playing with me.

"That was a nasty move bitch." He said softly and leaned in and kissed me again.

I tasted his blood. I tried to scream and he used the opportunity to stick his tongue in my mouth. I twisted my hands, trying to get enough contact to use my chakra but I couldn't.

_Wait a minute_...with a concentrated effort not to gag, I relaxed and kissed him back. His eyes, which had been closed _(...huh?) _opened suddenly and he looked confused. He tried to pull back but too late. _Gotcha_, I thought at him as my chakra flooded into him through his mouth. As his mouth disconnected from mine, I grabbed hold of his wrist. His pupils shrunk to pin pricks and I felt vindictive joy that this bastard was suffering. _How dare he try to hurt me!_ He took a step back and wrenched his hands free. He staggered, looking dazed. I took a step towards him when with a harsh thud a kunai embedded itself in his throat.

Behind him I saw a tall, silver haired man.

"Kakashi!"

I wiped at the blood that clung to my lips and tried to ignore the coppery taste that coated my mouth. Hidan reached up and wrenched the kunai from his throat and flung it back at its owner. Kakashi dodged easily and a new fight began. Hidan was slower and weaker than he had ever been and he fought not to defeat or kill but to get away. When he took off into the trees, Kakashi let him go. I learned about the fight much later because while that had been happening I had been experiencing a strange thing. I stood stunned as anger, rage, loneliness, longing and bloodlust rushed around inside me along with a dozen other feelings that I couldn't even identify. _Okay, _I thought, _this is not normal... _I heard voices like they came from far away. _Why is this familiar? _

"Sakura, take Sam and head to the village. Naruto stay with the prisoner and make sure that he doesn't try anything. I'll take the girl." _Oh, so I was back to being the girl again? Bastards! I should kill the lot of them, that would teach them some respect! _I groaned and doubled over, feeling sick. _What the hell was I thinking? What's happening to me?_

Someone lifted me up and spun me around unto his back. I clung on for dear life and buried my face into his back. Taking deep breaths I tried to calm the nausea that was rising in me and the strange disconnected sensation. Rather than going away, it intensified. I clenched my hands and tried to speak but nothing came out.

The next thing I remember was waking up in Konoha.

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**Yeah...that keeps happening to her. Believe me, neither she nor I appreciate it but there is a good reason. Next chapter, next week. Review if you can. **


	25. Behind Bars

**********Hey guys, it's thursday and do you know what that means? Tomorrow is Friday! Yay!...oh and I have a chapter for you. I want to thank my Beta Wingedmercury (for being an awesome editor) and all the people who favorited and reviewed. This is actually the first part of a long chapter so look out for the second part next week or so.**

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**BEHIND BARS**

I lay in a room full of sunlight**, **listening to children playing and people talking on the street outside. I wore only a thin hospital gown, a crisp white sheet pulled up to my waist. Groaning I tried to sit up. My body felt strangely bruised. A faint rustle brought my attention to the bed next to me. I yelped and pulled the sheet right up to my chin. Lying at ease in the bed next to me was none other than Uchiha Itachi.

"What are you doing here?" He looked at me then turned to face the opposite wall.

I frowned at him as I got out of bed, yelping occasionally as I encountered sensitive areas of skin. _Why__do__I__feel__like__an__overripe__banana?_I wondered. The last I remembered I was on Kakashi's back and then...nothing. S_omething__happened,__didn__'__t__it?_ Easing my feet to the cool floor, I pulled the sheet around me to conceal my exposed rear end and limped over to the window. Opening the curtain, I looked out over a sprawling village from behind thick iron bars. _Omg!__I__'__m__in__Konoha!_I reached out to touch them but pulled back when something like electricity zinged through my hand.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! The fuck!" I stuck my smarting fingers into my mouth "Shtupid freakin bars..."

Much as it hurt, the shock was a good thing; my brain seemed to start into thought. I turned to look at the room's other occupant. _I__was__in__a__room__in__Konoha__with__Itachi...__There__are__electric__bars__on__the__windows._ I turned and marched purposefully to the door and grabbed the handle, trying to turn it. _Locked...shit!__I__was__locked__in__a__room__with__Itachi__Uchiha,__a__wanted__criminal__in__the__village__where__he__committed__a__clan-full__of__atrocity__and__I__didn__'__t__remember__how__I__got__here..._I glanced at Itachi who had pulled the covers over his head. _He__would__know__but__he__clearly__doesn__'__t__want__to__talk...__Why__was__he__even__here?__Wasn__'__t__he__fighting__his__brother?__Was__he__a__prisoner__here...was__he__the__prisoner__Kakashi__had__mentioned?__How__could__they__capture__him...wait...if__he__was__a__prisoner__and__I__was__locked__in__with__him...was__I__a__prisoner__too?_I was about to go ask him (despite his obvious desire to be left alone) when the door behind me opened. I jumped back as two masked men entered, followed by Kakashi, Sakura, Sam and a tall blond woman who wore her hair in pigtails.

"Tsunade..." I muttered, drawing her bright blue eyes to mine

"Excuse me? I don't believe we've met much less given you permission to address me so informally!" she said glaring at me, hands clenched on the clipboard in front of her

"Uh...sorry...Hokage sama. I didn't mean anything by it, I just..."

"Never mind," she said suddenly brisk "Sam, take Erica to the kitchen."

"But I'm not dressed..."I said as Sam came over and took my arm.

"Don't worry about it, come on." He said leading me outside.

I looked back in time to see Itachi sit up and Tsunade open the chart before I the door was shut in my face. The dining room was small and unfinished-looking with a sturdy wooden table and two chairs. The walls were bare and the whole room felt freshly put together.

"Sam...?"

"I'll explain everything in a minute, eat something first." He said sitting opposite me and opening one of the two food cartons on the table. I opened my mouth to ask again but he shook his head, "Eat." _Had__Sam__always__been__this__damn__bossy?_

"Hn!" I said and picked up my chopsticks. I began eating stopping occasionally to smirk at Sam's clumsy attempts to get food to his face. When he felt that I'd laughed at him enough, he set down the box and wiped his mouth with a paper napkin.

"How can you eat with these things? I've lost 10lbs since I got here." He leaned back and folded his arms, waiting for me to finish. I used the time to study him more thoroughly. Sam had grown since I'd seen him all those weeks ago but that wasn't the extent of his changes. His curly hair had been trimmed almost to the scalp, giving his once babyish face a more hardened masculine look. He wore a short sleeved black t-shirt (it looked like a Tshirt but was probably ninja wear) and long black cargo pants. Beneath the table he tapped a sandal-clad foot. I had spent the last three weeks with ninja and I had read a shitload of fanfiction...Sam was becoming a ninja. I licked the ends of the chopsticks clean and tilted the empty box for Sam to see.

"I've been a good girl and eaten all my veggies, can you answer my questions now?"

"Were you always such a bitch Erica?" He asked smiling and handing me a canteen.

Taking it I drank before replying "No, I've been having a hard couple of weeks. I thought you were happy to see me? I got a hug and everything." I watched the bottle disappear into a pocket in his pants. _Did__those__pockets__have__black__holes__or__something?_

"I want to ask you something, well two things actually. Are you still angry about me leaving you to go to Konoha? I felt guilty the moment..."

"Don't be silly Sam. I was upset but never really angry. I missed you, Sam. I missed you a lot." I said reaching over to take his hand.

"You did? Erica...I..."

"I mean, you're the only person I can trust here. You're the only person who really knows me... you're my best friend Sam. I love you." I scrambled up in a bout of affection and wrapped my arms around him, pressing his head to my chest. He turned red as a beet and fought to speak.

"I...I love you too...I think. Now stop suffocating me." He said pushing me off him, a strange expression on his face.

I glanced up and saw a face retreat from sight down the hall. We were being watched. _I__wonder__if__Sam__knows?_He followed my gaze behind him and then turned determinedly back, an annoyed expression on his face.

"Forget those guys. They can't repeat anything they hear; it's part of the Anbu code." he said

"Sam, are you a ninja?" I asked, earning a shocked but pleased expression.

"No, not really...it's complicated. I'm in training but it's to control my ability not to go on missions. They only let me go with them last time because I knew you and they thought we wouldn't actually find anything."

I leaned forward, "You have an ability? What can you do?"

He smirked and leaned forward "Sorry, Demiblonde, I can't tell you. It's a secret." He leaned back and folded his arms, an infuriating smile in his eyes and a quirk at his mouth.

"Don't be irritating Sam, just tell me, I won't tell anyone. I mean, I don't know anyone, who would I tell?"

He turned serious immediately "How about that psychotic boyfriend of yours? I know you have bad tastes Erica but he killed..."

"Hidan is not my boyfriend and that kiss was disgusting!"

"...his entire family..." He finished looking struck "Erica, please say you didn't..."

"You had a second question, right?" I said, folding my arms and making it clear that I wasn't going to talk about it.

"Erica, that _was_ my second question...kind of. I'm supposed to find out the exact nature of your relationship with Uchiha Itachi but I think I'd like to hear about Hidan while we're on the subject. You kissed him? The guy tried to kill me!"

"First of all, there is _nothing_ to tell about Itachi. He's not a bad guy...it's complicated and I'm not really sure how much I should say and how much you guys already know. Is he talking? Did he tell them about the massacre? Do they know the truth?"

"Tell them what? That he killed his entire family to prove that he was better than them, to prove that he was more powerful? Do you mean _that_ truth? Or the truth about how he drove his brother mad and is trying to kill Naruto? How about all the other..."

"Sam, you don't know what you're talking about." I said "As for Hidan, I don't think his mother kissed him willingly and neither did I, end of discussion."

"Erica!"

"Sam!"

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled. There was a thump and Naruto went flying through the bedroom wall and collided hard with the other wall of the corridor.

"Baka Baa-sama! I have to kill him! Once he's dead, Sasuke will come back. Now get out of my way!" He charged through the open doorway and sounds of a struggle ensued. Sam got up and ran to the room. I followed more slowly. By the time I got there, Sam had a blue Naruto in a headlock and Sakura was lecturing and punching him on the head.

"We went over this a thousand times! Sasuke will come back to Konoha because Itachi is here...alive! Bakayaro!" with a final thump she turned and stomped off and Sam released Naruto.

"I don't understand! He's a _bad_ guy! A monster! He killed his parents! He's the reason Sasuke couldn't find any peace! He still calls himself Sasuke's brother for fuck's sake!" tears welled in his eyes and he turned to Itachi where he sat upright and emotionless "I'm a better brother to Sasuke than you ever were and when this is over and he's back, we're going to kill you together!" With that dreadful statement Naruto walked away.

Itachi didn't react at all during the tirade but as everyone watched Naruto leave I saw a small sad smile quirk his lips before his face went blank again.

"Uh...Erica?" Sam said as I shuffled back to my cot. All heads turned in my direction as I felt cool air against my bare behind.

"Shit!" I said. I'd forgotten my blanket at the table.

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**I like to hear what you guys think about what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. Your opinion is important. ****Review if you can. **


	26. Storytime

**Hi guys, wow it has been a long time. First off, I have a real good explanation as to why I'm late with this chapter. I was abducted by aliens and taken to their home world where I was forced to write bad soap opera scripts...not buying it? *sigh* Where is the trust? Really though, I was trying to finish the whole story before I started putting up the last set of chapters. There should be about four or five for the absolute most. I no longer have a Beta. Wingedmercury, who used to whip my grammar into shape is pretty busy these days. I want to say thank you to her for being awesome and helping me for so long. I apologise for any mistakes in spelling or grammar. Please enjoy.**

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**STORYTIME**

After my little accident, I demanded that my clothes be returned and was obliged. Tsunade and the others adjourned their little meeting to the now empty kitchen and I was left alone to change and explore the room. I found a small cramped bathroom through a plain door on the opposite side of the room. It contained many of the items a person would need, including toothpaste, new toothbrushes, soap, sanitary supplies and roll on deodorant. Noticeably missing was a mirror and anything glass. Once I put my clothes on I began to rummage around in the bathroom; there were no scissors, nail clippers, nail files or anything alcoholic including perfume and aftershave.

"Hmm..." _That's pretty strange but then again..._

"Is everything okay in there, miss?" asked an unfamiliar female voice

"I'm fine." I said as I opened the door but there was no one there "Am I going crazy or is there someone in here? Helloooo...is there anyone in here with me? Or did I just imagine a voice just now?"

"Why? Does that happen often?" I jumped and turned to the door

I felt blood rush to my face as Kakashi entered the room. _He's seen my naked ass._

"Uh...well no. I just keep getting the feeling that I'm being followed, that's all."

"Hm...what makes you think that?" He asked coming fully into the room.

"Empty rooms talking to me while I'm rummaging in the bathroom."

"Couldn't find something?"

"Yes actually; no scissors, tweezers, nail clippers at all; nothing that could be used as a weapon, I guess. What's going on here?" _There, I'd finally asked. _

He shrugged.

I realised that I was still standing in the bathroom. Closing the door behind me I went over to the bed and sat down. "Did I pass out and someone drop me or something?" No answer. "Is anyone _ever_ going to tell me what's going on?"

At that moment Tsunade walked into the bedroom followed by the two Anbu from earlier, Itachi and then everyone else. Itachi climbed back into bed. We made eye contact for a split second before he turned over and pulled the sheet over his head. I was so focused on his strange behaviour that I didn't notice Sam until he snapped his fingers in front of my face.

"Sorry." I said as everyone made themselves comfortable. The Anbu brought chairs from the kitchen for the Hokage to sit on. Sakura took the second chair while Sam sat next to me and Kakashi reclined near the window. While this was happening, I used the time to observe everyone.

Sakura was just as she was portrayed in the anime; though relatively short, she was shapely, lean and muscular. She didn't have much in the way of a chest but she had a nice bottom and very nice legs. Her forehead was, in fact, wider than average but it was in no way freakish or deformed. Her pink hair was more natural than I could have imagined with the majority being a vivid pink hue with slightly darker roots and natural sun streaks.

Tsunade...well, unless one knew she was an old woman, you would never guess. She looked like a twenty five at most with bright blond hair and eyes like a hawk. She was a physically intimidating woman who had an air of pride and authority that was far beyond her apparent age. Her chest looked like it could strangle a grown man and was on the verge of popping out of her blouse.

Kakashi...oh Kakashi...I felt myself flush and tried to convince myself that I wasn't a total fangirl. I knew that liking someone I had never met was silly but damn! Kakashi was tall and extremely well built. Even while fully clothed and mostly masked, he exuded a sense of strength and power. He wasn't the bulky kind of muscular of bodybuilders but seemed more lean muscle, like swimmers and serious martial artists. There wasn't much to see feature-wise except for one dark eye and a lot of silver hair. He appeared relaxed, leaning against the window with his iconic orange book in his hands but at the same time he seemed watchful and alert. I wondered what he looked like without the clothes on... I must have had a pretty perverted expression on my face because he caught me and I saw his eyebrow rise. Blushing shamelessly now, I focused intently on the Hokage who was seated and scribbling things on the chart. Sam, seated next to me, chatted quietly with Sakura.

"That baka, I really thought we had gotten through to him." Sakura said

"So did I but we knew this would be tough on him. It makes him want to do anything other than wait quietly."

"But he should be training. We all know how this is going to end. Sooner or later..."

The Hokage finished her scribbles and closed the folder. The sound quieted them instantly and drew our attention. I glanced at Kakashi who hadn't react and to the covered over figure that was Itachi before looking back to the Hokage. Tsunade caught my gaze and held it.

"How do you feel?" she asked

"Alright, not tired or sick, just a little sore I guess. I feel like I did way too much exercise but like I was rolled down a hill too. I know it doesn't make much sense but..." I said

"That's fine." She said "Sakura..." Sakura got up and walked over to me.

"Hi, my name is Haruno Sakura but I think you already know that. I just want to run a few internal tests to ensure that everything is ok. Don't worry, this won't hurt." She smiled politely and extended her hands.

"Sure." I said and extended my hands. She shook her head. Instead, she reached out and placed her fingers at the skin of my temples.

For a moment I felt nothing, then a tingling warmth began to radiate from her touch. I closed my eyes and focused on the sensation. It was a warm buzz like static honey in my head. The sensation moved to different areas in my head before moving outward to my face and then down to my body. _It's probably her chakra _I thought. As this thought crossed my mind, I felt for my own chakra. Perhaps it was because of how rested I was or because of Sakura's examination but I had a clearer sense of my energy pooled within me. In my mind, it was a pond that barely vibrated as Sakura's energy skimmed its surface. Curious as to what would happen, I nudged my chakra. It reached out to hers catching on to the tail of it as it moved to examine another area inside of me. It tugged. Sakura inhaled sharply and pulled away. I felt the connection between us stretch and I willed my energy to let go. Her energy rushed into her and I opened my eyes. She frowned at me, her hands limp at her sides.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't supposed to do that, was I? This chakra stuff is pretty new to me and..."

She forced a smile "It's fine. I just didn't expect you to be able to control your chakra like that. Tsunade shishou, she's physically fine, no damage of any kind. And..." she seemed to hesitate as she moved back to her chair "it is just as you suspected."

I tried to follow the silent conversation as Sakura looked intently at Tsunade who glanced at Kakashi who closed his book. Sam moved closer to me and took my hand. I pulled them away and looked at him. He sighed and settled for putting his arm around my waist. I felt myself tense.

"What do you remember about how you got here?" asked the Hokage

I glanced at Sam who wore a fixed expression on his face. I looked back to Tsunade.

_Oh no, what's going on here? _"Nothing really. I remember being on Kakashi's back and feeling dizzy, kinda nauseous too and then nothing till this morning."

"You don't remember anything? Nothing at all?" Sam asked

"No, why? Did something happen? Did...did I _do_ something?"

"Kakashi." The Hokage said and he leaned a little straighter against the wall

"We were on our way back to Konoha. The day after you lost consciousness we met with Sai not too long after sunset. Sam was almost fully recovered and Sakura had examined you and found nothing physically wrong except for odd fluctuations in your chakra system which she believed was a side-effect of a powerful genjutsu. The prisoner denied having caused this but at the time it seemed the most likely explanation. We stopped for the several miles within the fire country's border and anticipated being back in Konoha the following day. At approximately 1300 hours, during Sam's watch, Erica appeared to awake. She stood, looked around the camp and made her way over to Sam. I was awake at the time but she didn't seem to be aware of that. She stopped within four feet of him and as he became aware of her she struck him silently and knocked him out."

"I did what?"

He cast me a cold glance and I shut up. He continued.

"I was concerned about her actions but my first priority was to secure the prisoner. I believed at the time that she was acting under his control and was purposefully creating a distraction. Sai was awake as well but Sakura and Naruto were both asleep. I signalled to Sai to approach cautiously. He was within feet of her when she attacked. She moved faster than a civilian should be able to and managed to knock him back. He collided with Naruto who woke instantly if not completely. Erica, at this point seemed completely unaware of her surroundings. She didn't move like someone controlled by a genjutsu, it was closer to the way a sleepwalker moves. Sam regained consciousness and immediately tried to restrain with her but she didn't appear to recognise him. While they struggled, Sai attempted to capture her using his ink but she was quick enough to dodge them both. Sakura had awoken and when Sam was knocked down she attempted to intervene. She tried to punch Erica who caught her fist and snapped her wrist. Sakura fell back as Sai and Sam advanced co-ordinating to allow Sai to capture her while Sam distracted her. Naruto created several clones and they all attacked simultaneously, intending to immobilise her with clones. Just as they reached her, she stopped and looked at the sky...then she fell unconscious again. Unfortunately for her, Naruto couldn't stop his clones in time to avoid all damage. After Sakura healed her own injuries and ensured that Sam wasn't badly hurt, she examined Erica and found bruising but no serious damage. The prisoner denied having caused her strange behaviour but admitted to having witnessed something similar when she was a captive of the Akatsuki."

"I don't remember any of this ..." I began but I looked around a room full of grim faces. I didn't remember but for some reason I knew it was true "Why don't I remember any of this?"

"We've been observing you since you were brought back and we think that the blackouts and the strange behaviour are related to the way your chakra functions. That is, you've been having these episodes because you're unable to control the negative effects of your ability." Tsunade said

"Ok, it's because of my ability, what ability? You keep talking about it like I should know what you mean but I don't. What ability do I have and what does it have to do with me attacking people?"

"Tsunade sama, maybe this isn't the best time to talk about this. I'm sure that Erica's had enough shocks for today already." Sakura suggested

"No, this is something she needs to learn and come to terms with as soon as possible. Erica, do you know how chakra works?" asked the Hokage

I thought for a moment. "Kind of. I know that according to the story...wait, do you guys know..."

"Yeah, they know about where we come from. I'm not sure how much they believe but..." Sam said with a shrug

"We'll assume that what you say is true, for now." Tsunade said

"Ok...according to the anime, all humans have chakra, it's one of the things that define a person as being alive. Chakra comes in different types, like wind and water, and type influences the type of jutsu that a ninja is good at. Hmm... chakra flows through a chakra system made up of coils and uh...chakra centers, I can't remember what they're called. That's about it except for the chakra points thing that the Hyuugas can do."

Tsunade nodded approval as though I wasn't as badly off as she thought I would be. "I believe your story more and more." She said to Sam "Good, then you shouldn't have too much trouble comprehending this; your chakra system has the ability to attract and absorb the chakra of others."

"Attract and absorb ..." I said slowly tasting the words, feeling them sink in

"To make it simpler, you can drain the chakra from another person through physical contact."

"What?" I said

Sam spoke "Erica, she means you can take chakra the way vampires drink blood, they've been running some tests on you since you got here and..."

"Sam," Sakura interrupted, "maybe we should give her a moment to absorb this."

She was right, I needed a moment.

"So...I can steal chakra?" I asked

"Yes," Tsunade confirmed "through physical contact but with training you may be able to use it at a distance. There also seems to be a limit on the amount you can safely take in but that too could change with time and training"

"...at a distance. How do you know? I mean, how do you know this is what I do and not read minds or copy jutsu or something?" I asked

"We've been running tests on you since you got here. We noticed from the start that your system was very different from average, even more so than Sam's. We began with the assumption that your system functioned as his did but it soon became clear that it didn't. When the healers couldn't explain the oddly malleable nature of your chakra system, I examined you myself. Without you meaning to, your chakra attached itself to mine and refused to let go."

"Oh."

"I was eventually able to detach myself but I did all the experimenting after that." She grinned at me in a way that was terrifying "You have the potential to be very useful." She said

"I know this is going to sound incredibly stupid but I just need to make sure. I can absorb chakra?"

She leaned back "Yes."

"Can I just absorb it or can I do things with it too?"

"We can't be 100% certain but the energy integrates completely into your own chakra."

"Ok. Is that how I could fight even though I don't know a thing about fighting?"

"It's possible but we won't know for sure until you can control your ability enough to really see how it works." She was smiling at me

I was silent for a long moment and Sam grew agitated. "Erica, are you ok? I know this is a lot to handle but it gets easier when you start to control it. I promise you, everything is going to be ok."

"I'm fine Sam. I just can't believe this is actually happening. It's weird enough that this place exists and that you people really exist but to believe that I have some weird ability is just too unbelievable. Shit like this just doesn't happen." I said "I think I can believe everything else but this is too much. I was probably electrocuted by that damn machine of yours and I'm lying in a coma at the hospital or...maybe I never made it to the lab. Maybe I was hit by a bus or Jack ran me over with his car for breaking up with him or..."

"You broke up with Jack?" Sam interjected

"Yeah," I replied hotly "but that's not the point."

"Why didn't you say anything?" He asked

"Why are you asking me stupid questions when I'm clearly going insane?" and with that inane statement I felt the tears well up. "Oh crap." I muttered and hopping off the bed I scrambled away from them all and into the bathroom. I put the toilet seat down and sat. I could hear them talking but couldn't hear what they said. I put my head between my knees and took deep breaths till I felt calm.

_It has to be real. If this was a dream, I would never act like such a dork in front of Kakashi. Plus, it really does explain more than it doesn't. I could absorb chakra. That's how I was able to weaken Hidan and make him let go of me. That was probably what I did to Konan that freaked her out and...that must have been what I'd done to Imari... I replayed the entire incident in my head and tried to understand how absorbing chakra could have anything to do with the surreal conversation that we had had in a place that existed only in her head. I had learned too many real things from her to believe that it was a dream or a hallucination or something so it must mean... Had I absorbed her memories with her chakra? But then why did it see like I had met? Shouldn't I have just seen the memories themselves? I'm missing something. I realised that the talking had died down and I realised that they were probably outside waiting for me. _ I sighed.

I wiped the last tears off my face and with a deep breath I re-entered the room. I turned to face the Hokage.

"I'm sorry, that won't happen again." I said but didn't sit again.

I leaned against the bed and ignored my aching legs. Sakura looked at Sam in a way that implied that he should say something. I glanced at the window and realised that Kakashi had left at some point. The lump that was Itachi hadn't visibly moved but was rising and falling regularly.

"It's fine. You took this a lot better than I actually expected." Tsunade said gruffly

"Thanks." I said

"Oh, don't thank me yet." She said turning mischievous "You're going to have to learn how to control your ability and you're about 16 years behind."

"Oh." I said with a distinct lack of surprise. "That's going to start soon, then?" I asked

She just nodded. "Yes but I have something I want you to do for me first. Sam, you'll bring her to MedLab2 tomorrow afternoon. Don't look so worried, kid, I'm not sending you to Ibiki..." I frowned even more "ah, so you know who he is too, then." She snickered "I will see you tomorrow." With a regal nod, she turned and walked out with her guards following close behind.

Sam got to his feet. "Before you ask, I have no idea what she wants you to do. To be honest, this is the longest time I've spent with her and I don't mind that one bit."

"She is kinda scary, well, scarier that I would have guessed actually." I said

Sakura, who had stayed behind responded, "She can be pretty scary but she not bad. And before you ask, I _do_ know what she what she wants but I can't tell you because it's classified. And again, before you ask, everything to do with you and Sam is classified. As for the prisoner," she glanced his way "Everything about him is classified too."

Sam and Sakura got up and walked to the door. Sam opened the door for her and she smiled at him before leaving. They were leaving. It was so sudden that I felt a little lost. Sam turned back to me.

"Are you coming or do I have to hold this door open all day?"

"I can leave?" I asked

"I forgot to tell you didn't I? I'm sorry there's been a lot going on. Yes, you're coming with Sakura and I for now."

"Yay!" I said and all but skipped to the door before stopping. "Wait, what about him?" I asked indicating Itachi.

"What about him?" he asked in response

I wasn't sure how to phrase what I wanted to ask. _Were they going to hurt him? Was he going to be left here forever? Once they got Sasuke back, would they really kill him? _In the end, I shook my head. "Never mind, let's go."

He closed the door behind us and started telling me about all the amazing places he had to show me before we got back Home. I half listened while my mind tried to decide how to broach the topic of the Uchiha massacre with the Hokage while worrying about how Itachi must feel alone in that small white room.

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**Review if you can. I like to hear what you have to say even if it's a criticism. To those of you who have reviewed: Thanks :)**


	27. Another Temporary Home

**Another temporary home**

We walked all the way to Sakura's house. My chakra was back but Sakura warned me against using it so by the time we got there, I was tired. Sakura's house was a two story white building at the end of a small cul de sac. The front yard consisted of a small patch of grass and an overgrown tree. The house was clean and looked recently painted. The furniture was small and feminine with the odd brightly coloured cushion mixed in with the more numerous thread bare ones.

"Please forgive the state of the house. I just bought it and I haven't had much time to fix it up yet."

"It's okay, the paint is a nice colour."

"Yeah, it's called golden caramel. I bought it months ago but only managed to get it on the walls last week. I don't know how Sam does it. He can train, learn to read and write, work and still find time to help me paint."

"He _is_ something special; always the over-achiever. Where did he go off to anyway?"

"I can't really say. He's been working on some kind of project for the Hokage. Come, I'll give you the tour."

The ground floor contained the kitchen, sitting room, office and a bathroom. The upstairs had three bedrooms, all of which had their own bathroom. It was a big house. _I guess being a medic paid pretty well._ She gave me the room directly opposite Sam's and down the hall from the master suite where she slept. It was fully stocked with everything I could possibly need including clothes in my size and shoes that fit just right. Someone had prepared for me. I stifled a yawn.

"I'll leave you to get some sleep. I have a shift later, so when you wake up, I may not be here but there's food in the fridge if you're hungry. If you get bored, feel free to use the Tv or help yourself to any of the books in the living room. Get some rest." She said and left, closing the door behind her.

I didn't bother changing. I fell into bed and slept deeply and dreamlessly for some time. I woke later feeling heavy and rested. Looking out the window I saw the sun set, turning the orange and red leaves on the trees outside to a bright, rustling fire. I got up, went over to the window and opened it. The breeze washed over me, cooling my face and soothing my worries, if only for the moment. I glanced down and was surprised to see a window box with a patch of small flowering shrubs.

"She really likes pink doesn't she?" I said reaching them to press my nose to the soft fuschia blossom.

No scent but the richness of the earth beneath it. I reached down and sank fingers into the moist loose earth. It was good soil, rich and dark. I remembered digging through earth like that to plant the lime tree that grew in my back yard at home. My mom had laughed at me when I'd stuffed my mouth with the stuff thinking it would taste like chocolate. I smiled and with my eyes on the horizon, I felt for my chakra. It came eagerly, flooding through my body and down into my hand. I felt it connect to the plants and sink like little hooks into their chakra, pulling gently at first and then faster. I felt it stop suddenly and looked down. I gasped and pulled back. The box was now filled with withered plants...dead plants. I could still feel their energy inside me, almost like a taste. I stumbled back and without a word climbed back into bed. Turning away from the window, I clutched my dirt covered hand to my chest. I was asleep before the tears dried on my face.

The Hokage building was bigger and twistier than I would have guessed from the anime. It was circular and the layout reminded me strongly of the Akatsuki hideout in Amegakure but not enough that I could find my way around. I hadn't seen Sam since the previous day but Sakura, who dropped me off, said that she would come get me later that day. After climbing what felt like 100 thousand stairs I found myself staring down a corridor described by the four people who had given me directions. I was beginning to get the idea that civilians rarely ever saw the Hokage's office. I was also beginning to understand why Kakashi always entered through the window. I raised my hand to knock.

"Come in!" came a yell from within

The Hokage stood behind her desk flipping through a report looking hurried and harassed. Her hair, finally out of pigtails, was tied up and tucked into a surgical cap. There was a small smudge of blood on the edge of her plain blue shirt. Overall, she looked like she'd just come from the hospital.

"Sit down. We have a few things to discuss."

I sat and she closed the file with a sigh before pushing it aside.

"We need your help." She said, fixing me with her eyes.

"My help? Do you mean the information stuff?" I asked

"No, it's related to a medical case. I believe that your ability can help us save a man's life." Reaching down, she handed me the file she had been looking through. "Do you recognise anything?"

I opened the file and perused. I didn't understand a word of written Japanese so she must mean the pictures, I thought. There were three grainy black and white images that looked like ultrasound pictures and one diagram drawn in pencil. I was about to tell her that I had no idea when a collection of scaly looking spikes drew my eye. I brought the image up to my face and squinted at it trying to reconcile it with what I remembered.

"This looks like Samehada." I said finally "The parasite sword that Kisame uses."

"That's what we believe as well. The patient seems to be infected with larvae from the chakra parasite that the swordsman carries. Infection must have occurred years ago. It's a miracle he's still alive."

"He...you mean Itachi? The patient we're talking about is Itachi?"

"Yes, we need your help in treating Uchiha Itachi. I would understand if you refuse. You were a prisoner of the Akatsuki for some time and while you appear...favourable to him, I _would_ accept your refusal." She said looking at me expectantly.

"No. If there is anything I can do to help, I want to do it. How did he become infected? Was it on purpose or was it some kind of weird accident?"

She looked at me for a moment as though deciding whether to reply. "We believe that the infection was purposeful. It seems to have been meant to weaken him but also to provide a hatching ground for the parasite." Eww "I want to ask you something before we go any further. Why are you so friendly towards the Uchiha? From what we've learned, he's done nothing to create such loyalty."

I thought for a moment about what to tell her. "The biggest reason is that I know what he sacrificed for Konoha and while he's been a real prick to his younger brother, I think that he honestly meant well by it. And despite what he must have told you, he did help me when I was Ame. I had a problem with Hidan and he sort of..._extracted_ me from a bad situation. He didn't _have_ to help me. I owe him for that."

"I see." She said and glanced pointedly at the open window and door. Without moving, they shut as though blown by the wind. "When you refer to the 'sacrifice' he made for Konoha, what exactly are you referring to?"

"The Uchiha massacre." I replied immediately. I'd been preparing myself to tell her this. "He helped exterminate his clan on orders from the third Hokage. He also acted as a double agent leading up to the massacre."

"And you know about this because of the world where you come from?" she asked but not as though she were sceptical anymore

"Yeah." I confirmed

"I see. Take this." She said handing me a folder.

The folder contained a schedule which covered every day except Monday. It was written in english and the file included a detailed map of Konoha.

"That will be your schedule from tomorrow. Your mornings will be spent training and learning to control your ability. The afternoon, until I say otherwise will be spent with me. Tomorrow you will assist me with the surgery but from Thursday we will begin the process of debriefing you. Once I'm satisfied that I know everything you know about Konoha, your evenings will be spent with someone from the Intelligence Division so that we know all there is to know about your world. I'm sure I don't need to say this but under no circumstances are you to disclose anything that we discuss, especially anything concerning the Uchihas. Yes?"

"Sorry to interrupt but the surgery is tomorrow? Isn't that a bit soon? I don't even know what you need me to do."

"Don't worry," she said with a smirk "I'm going to show you exactly what you have to do and you're not leaving here until you get it right."

Sigh


	28. Surgery and Recovery

**Hey everyone, here is another chapter. This chapter is dedicated to an awesome reviewer koiketsudayou who has given me my most awesome review to date. I also want to thank silferdeath, Battle neurosis (Don't worry about Madara, I never believed it for a second), to the anonymous reader who told me about Hidan, OSR fanatic, OTURAN-IKAMUZU1, wingedmercury and to everyone else who read and reviewed. Thank you guys so much! Enjoy and Review. :)**

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**SURGERY**

True to her word, the Hokage taught me what I needed to know. I had to drain a certain amount of chakra from his thorax. She would use certain seals to isolate the area and another medic would keep his heart beating. Unfortunately for me, it required that I be very precise in how much energy I took. They needed to remove enough to weaken the parasites but not so much that it permanently damaged his tissue. It was a fine line and I spent all day and a lot of the night learning how not to cross it. By the time we finished, she seemed very pleased with my progress and even went so far as to offer me a drink of her sake. One drink led to two and three so by the time Sam knocked on the door I was pretty tipsy. The Hokage was red in the face but seemed sober as a rock.

"Don't be late." She cautioned as I followed Sam out the door. I nodded in response but focused on keeping both feet hitting the floor.

"I guess I should have warned you about the Hokage's little drinking problem but I figured that you already knew." He said putting an arm around my waist and guiding me down the stairs. It wasn't comfortable for either of us but my brain felt like it had melted in my head and was sloshing around.

"I know but I've never had sake this potent. It usually takes a lot more for me to get drunk."

"Well, consider yourself lucky that I came when I did. Sakura says that the Hokage hates to drink alone. Are you okay? Did you spend all day together?"

"Yeah, but I can't talk about it." I said and stumbled "Shit."

Before I could protest Sam reached down and scooped me up into his arms with what seemed like no effort.

"Uh, Sam," I began to protest

"Sam nothing," He said "This is much faster than me hoisting you along like half inflated pool toy."

In response, I yawned and settled against him smelling faint traces of sweat and grass. It wasn't unpleasant but I felt that something was missing; something a little floral and sweet. I drifted off and didn't wake till Sam was closing the door of my borrowed room.

**RECOVERY**

Itachi woke two days after the surgery to find that he wasn't alone. He was surprised to wake at all. After the Hokage's first attempt to remove the parasites failed so spectacularly, he had expected to die on that operating table. The thought hadn't _worried_ him, it was more a feeling of disappointment. He had failed Sasuke again; his second chance to make things right was going to end with him bleeding to death in an operating theatre.

"You're awake." She said turning to face him. "Welcome back. How are you feeling?"

He struggled to sit up and failed. The weakness in his limbs was bearable but the raw feeling in his chest was hard to ignore. He tried again, ignoring the discomfort. The girl took a step towards him.

"Don't." He said coldly

"I was just trying to help. You're not supposed to move around too much." She replied

"What do you want?" he asked

"I came to see how you were doing. Are you feeling okay?"

"Hn."

He actually didn't feel too bad. In the days since his return to Konoha, he'd stopped taking the pain medication that had kept him relatively sane and functional for the past eight years. The physical effects of the withdrawal weren't as bad as he had expected but the increasing pain more than compensated for that. Just when it became unbearable, the Hokage had announced that she had a strategy to deal with the infection. Itachi couldn't quite believe that it would succeed but Tsunade-hime was said to be the best medic-nin anywhere and he was willing to give it a chance. After all what did he have to lose?

Taking a deep breath he forced himself to sit up. Erica kept her distance, waiting as he sat himself upright in the small bed. He took his first deep breath in more than five years. He closed his eyes relishing the feeling. The fluid in his lungs had drained and the inflammation was gone. When he opened his eyes the girl was emptying food from a grocery bag into the cupboard next to his bed.

"I couldn't remember what you liked and I'm not willing to trust the fanfiction so I got a bit of everything. I don't even know what some of this stuff tastes like." She said holding up a package of preserved prunes

"What are you doing here?" he asked catching her eyes, activating his sharingan, testing it.

"Um, I'm bringing you some unhealthy food to aid your recovery. I thought that would have been obvious." She said quirking her eyebrow at him

He refused to respond to such a ridiculous statement. Deciding that ignoring her would be a suitable response, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and tried to stand up, tried being the operative word.

"The Hokage said that the parasites sort of rerouted your chakra system to feed themselves. Over the years, as they grew, the changes became more extreme. It'll take a while for your system to readjust itself, so you really shouldn't try to move around too much." She said

He grit his teeth in annoyance. As he sat there, he realised that it was the first time in a very long time that he had felt so cranky. To be accurate, it had been a long time since he had felt _anything_ so acutely. He had always known that the painkillers dampened his emotions but he'd never suspected how much. He paused and thought about it. He should have known, he decided. The signs had been there, especially after what happened with Sasuke after the chunin exams. He had been fully aware of what he was doing but at the same time, he knew that it had gone too far. When he learned that Sasuke had joined Orochimaru, he knew who was to blame. He spoke before he could stop himself.

"Erica, what are you doing here?" he asked again more sharply

She sighed and sat herself in the rooms' only chair. "Is it so hard to believe that I just want to see how you're doing? I feel like I owe you a great deal and I don't have any way to repay you so I thought you might like something better than hospital food every day."

"Consider me repaid then." He said but he could see that there was something else. Always patient, he waited for her to say what she really wanted.

She had been studying him intently and with another sigh she slumped in the chair.

"This is going to sound terrible; really, really terrible but I've sort of been hiding in your room. The Hokage is a slave driver! Between the early morning training and the hours of repeating everything I know a hundred times, I'm _exhausted._ If she sees me so much as breathing deeply she assumes that I'm lazing about and finds something for me to do. I can't relax at home because Sakura doesn't get home till late and I don't have a key. As for Sam, he's always off with Naruto, training or working on some new jutsu or something. And did I mention that they have people following me? I spent a lot of time in the bathroom before I decided to come to visit you and realised that they weren't allowed to come inside." She took a deep breath to replace all the air she'd just expended. Her face was flushed and he felt something well up inside him. On the outside he was impassive as ever. "Yeah, so I've been coming here when I don't have training and stuff. It's pretty quiet and the scenery is nice...uh, the window has a nice view and I don't have to worry about Kitty breathing down my neck."

"Kitty?" he asked despite himself

She sighed and smirked. "Kitty's what I call the Anbu who's been following me. They never answer any of my questions so I've been forced to name them to keep track. Kitty is either the fifth or sixth that's been tailing me. They switch out every so often. I think they have missions. Although, the Hokage _did _suggest that my constant talking to them has something to do with it. The first was Brick because of his red hair, then Monkey and Eagle because of their masks, Stony because he was as blank as a brick wall, no offense and then Kitty because she hisses at me when I talk too much."

"Hn."

"Yeah... Anyway, I think I'd better go, I have a medical lesson with Shizune in...crap, ten minutes." She said glancing down at her wristwatch "I hope you get better soon." She said as she hurried to the door. Her hand connected to the doorknob when he spoke.

"You don't owe me anything. I kept you unharmed because it was in my best interest to do so. Do not interpret it as anything else." He cautioned

She smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Bye." She said and turning, she left closing the door behind her.

His eyelid twitched.


	29. Easy Times

**Hi guys, I'm posting this right before I head out to work so no time for a long intro. Thanks everyone who reviewed and favourited, i appreciate every single one. I hope you enjoy the chapter. **

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EASY TIMES

I leaned back against the bench and looked out over the expanse of the village. I couldn't see the faces of the statues I sat on but I could see what they had all given their lives for. It was a poignant moment. Two months had passed since I first woke up in the village and at last my life seemed to be entirely mine again. I took a languorous lick of my ice cream.

"You have a training session with Hatake san in twenty minutes, Erica. We should probably leave now." Crow said climbing down from the tree behind me. He bunched up the empty napkin that had held his double chocolate squash ice cream cone and tossed it in the garbage.

I sighed but got up. A deal was a deal after all. I glanced at Crow who slumped casually as though reclining on an upright cushion of air. Thanks to him I'd spent the last two weeks visiting all the wonderful tourist sites that Konoha had to offer. In return, I didn't try to ditch him and I was on time for my lessons (even when it was clear that my teacher wouldn't be). It didn't stop me from complaining though.

"But Crow, we both know that Kakashi is going to be at least half an hour late. Why don't we stay here a bit more? You can tell me about..." I searched the village for something of interest that we hadn't already covered "that building. What the heck is it, anyway?"

"It's an herbalist but you're not finding out anything more till after we meet with your sensei. Come on." He said walking ahead of me to the walkway.

I sighed and rushed to catch up. Crow walked fast. As I walked behind him, I admired the view. Okay, I couldn't see his face but he had the body and the attitude of an extremely smexy man. I sighed again and jogged to take my place at his side. What felt like several thousand stairs later, I was standing at the bottom of the Hokage monument and Crow, as usual, had vanished. I took a moment to stretch and then started jogging to the training ground. I hadn't been in bad shape before I'd gotten here but there was a huge difference between doing an hour of aerobics and training with a bunch of gravity defying super-humans. When I'd started sessions with Kakashi he had commented on my lack of strength and stamina. When I protested, he'd asked me to run five laps around the training ground. If I could make it then he would forget about the strength training stuff. I made three before I the pain in my side overwhelmed my desire to prove him wrong. As I sat on the grass trying to catch my breath, I got a lecture on the necessity of having a strong body to having a strong mind. I also got a list of tasks that were designed to help me get stronger. One of them was to run, rather than walk, wherever I had to go.

I made it to the training ground and immediately began the process of cooling down and stretching the soreness out of my muscles. That first day, I had thought that Kaksahi was being way too hard on me. After all, I was a civilian learning to cope with an ability I didn't need or want. I was right too. He was meaner and more sarcastic than I had ever seen him in the anime or the manga. The only thing that came close was when he'd talked down to Iruka during the chunin exams but then I remembered that I'd tried to kill his friends and I couldn't be mad. Instead, every time he said something caustic I used it as fuel to work harder and get better. There wasn't anything I could do except to try to prove to him that I wasn't a complete waste of space. It was only in the last week or so that he had really seemed to warm up to me, which means that he was _funny_ and sarcastic in addition to being blindingly handsome...just my type.

Pushing such unproductive thoughts out of my mind, I sat down and began the slow process of gathering my chakra into my core. I had been doing this for weeks and my chakra still fought me. I forced myself to be patient and captured it strand by strand, before balling it up and tucking it away under my skin. Once I had it all under control, I extracted a strand and fed it into my hand. I focused on keeping it on the surface of my skin before slowly extending it and allowing it to make contact with a small shrub not five feet away from myself. I split the tendril and wrapped hair-like strand on the trees essence. I pulled. There was brief resistance and I increased the amount of chakra. I was sweating by now and I could feel a fine tremble in my limbs. Extending my chakra outside of my body was difficult. The distance of the plant made it even more challenging. Plus...no one had actually taught me how to do this. Kakashi had been teaching me how to gather my chakra and how to keep control of it. Why Kakashi? He was the only one who could tell if my chakra was escaping my body. I realised that my mind had drifted again and when I opened my eyes, the poor shrub was brown and withered. I facepalmed and flopped back unto the grass. It was only then that I realised that I wasn't alone.

"Oh hey Kakashi..." I said

'Hello. What was that?" He asked not making any effort to stop looming over me

"I was working on controlling my pesky ability, just like you said." I said sitting and then standing up.

"I don't remember you mentioning that you could control your chakra quite that well, actually. How long have you been able to extend it outside of your body?" he asked

I couldn't quite meet his eye "For a while. I suspect that I've always been able to, at least unconsciously." He frowned at me "I wasn't sure for a long time and before you even think it, I haven't been trying this out on anything more sentient that shrubbery."

"Uh huh..." he said

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" I asked trying to change the subject

"Well...I was going to have you try extending your chakra outside of your body but..." He rubbed the back of his head "it seems like you can already do that so I guess we can skip training today."

"Wait, what? You made me wait here for an hour and a half and you're not going to teach me anything? I could have been having another ice cream right now."

"Yes but are you sure that you'd want to do that." He gave me an appraising squint "On that note, have you been keeping up with the exercises?" he asked

_Did he just call me fat? _"Yes...yes I have."

"Well, we'll end your lesson for today. Keep up the good work. Bye!" and then he went poof!

"That motherf..."

"Well.." I turned to see Crow standing beside me

"This is your fault you know." I said

"How so?"

"If I was late, then I wouldn't have had time to practice extending my chakra. If I didn't try to extend my chakra Kakashi wouldn't have seen me do what he was planning to teach me and I wouldn't have wasted precious moments of my life waiting for him. I also would have been learning _something_ instead of standing in the middle of a training ground wondering if he's just called me fat and contemplating Kakashicide."

"Hmm...I agree."

I turned to stare at him, shocked. Since when did Crow agree with me on anything?

"I know what would cheer you up though...How about we grab some dinner? I was thinking Udon noodles or Ichiraku."

"Are you paying?" I asked immediately, knowing where this was going

"Well, I would like to but I seem to have left my money at home. If you pick up the check, I'll surely pay you back." He said and I could tell the bastard was smiling

I grinned. He was transparent and he knew it.

"Fine, I'll spend some more of my hard earned cash but under one condition."

"Hmm?"

"I want you to teach me the hand signs that ninjas use. I wanted to ask Kakashi but since he's disappeared on me, I guess that leaves you."

"Why do you want to learn them?" he asked

"I want to try out jutsu, obviously. I don't know if I can use them but I have to try." I looked at him imploringly. I had a moment of wishing that I could tell what he was thinking. _Well, you could try using your chakra on him. He'd never even know. _ I dismissed that idiotic thought and added "Please."

"I get to order what I want?"

"Yes, but it has to be under 500 yen." I countered

"Deal." He said

The signs were easy enough, in principle but memorising twelve signs in the space of half an hour proved difficult. I kept getting flustered when I tried to do them quickly.

"What the hell!" I said throwing my hands up in frustration after mixing up two of the hand signs for the fourth time "A regular clone shouldn't be this hard. I've seen Naruto do this...Naruto..." I said archly "What was the sequence again?" I asked

He tilted his head in thought "hmm, it's not that you can't remember the sequence. Your hands seem unable to remain coordinated long enough to complete it." He said tapping the chin of his mask

"Have I told you that I hate you?" I asked

"Yes, at least three times a day for the past three weeks."

"Good, cus I mean it." I said "This is going nowhere."

"Well, maybe you should call it a day, try again tomorrow?" he asked and behind him I could see the sun sinking in the sky.

I sighed deeply and sadly. Another day gone, another day spent here.

Crow followed my gaze and turned back to me with a sigh. "There is one more thing we could try but I'm not sure if it will work."

I turned to stare at the black slits that were his eyes. "It can't hurt to try it, I guess." I replied

"Close your eyes." He instructed and I did. I was suddenly very aware of the world around me. The breeze was cooler than usual as it rushed along the grass tugging at it and making the trees chatter and complain. I could feel it tug at my clothing. A moment passed without him saying anything. I was about to open my eyes when I felt someone move in just behind me, close enough to feel their body heat but not actually touching. I would have pulled away but he spoke.

"Relax." He said and I felt his gloved hands enclose my own. They shaped my hands into the first sign of the set. "Stop thinking so hard about how the sign should look, try focusing on how it should feel." He shaped my hands into the second sign. "It's not hard. I learned the hand signs when I was very young. I would sit in my mother's lap and she'd hold my hands like this and make the signs one by one." He said and shaped the third sign.

I took deep breaths and focused my attention away from the sensation of his hands on mine and focused instead on the shape he guided them into. He repeated all twelve signs three times before running through the combination for the regular bunshin twice. As I breathed in and out, I caught a slightly sweet scent that tickled at something in my consciousness. It didn't take me long to realise who the smell was coming from and it wasn't me.

"Crow, are you wearing perfume?" I asked

He pulled away and came around to face me.

"No." he said "Run through the sequence again."

"Huh." I replied but followed his instructions

I closed my eyes and did the full sequence and then the bunshin sequence just to prove that I could. "Wow, I can't believe that worked." I said, stretching out my fingers "But I guess if it worked to teach a kid then it should work for me too, huh?" I turned to him as I dusted myself off "How about that dinner then? What do you think, shower or no shower?" I asked rotating to get a second opinion on my appearance

"No shower," he said and I heard his stomach gurgle "and I want a 1000 yen dinner. Before you say anything, I already know you can afford it." He added sternly

"Sure, you deserve it. I know hand signs, yay!" I said tidying my hair as he turned to lead the way

"By the way," he said without turning "that whole story was false. I learned the hand signs in the academy like everyone else but I didn't want you to think that I was trying anything weird. Plus, it's a better story isn't it?" he asked finally turning and tilting his head at me.

I sighed and shook my head. "Damn ninja." I muttered

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**Review?**


	30. The Festival of the Fishes

**Hey guys, this is the first part of a two part chapter, another long one. I hope you enjoy. As always, I appreciate any feedback I get and I love all of my reviews. If I don't reply to your reviews it's not because I don't like it, only because all I ever want to do is say "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" in my highest most squeeing voice. Enjoy.**

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THE FESTIVAL OF THE FISHES

I don't usually remember my dreams. The last time I'd one had been during my time as a prisoner in Ame. Anyway, not long after I learned my hand signs, I had another dream. In the dream I was running through Konoha as bombs, or what I thought were bombs, exploded in the distance shaking the ground and creating massive clouds of dust. I stood in the middle of a street as cool breeze blew around me and grey dust settled over everything. I could hear, see and touch but it felt unreal.

The sounds drew closer and with a sense of unreality I walked towards it. At the end of the street stood a gigantic beast that was methodically ripping a building apart, huge claws sinking into the concrete like it was Styrofoam. People fled screaming as ninja attacked the beast from all sides. Their shuriken and jutsu seemed to do little more than annoy the creature. Someone running past bumped into me and I fell. When I looked up, the scene had changed. I was standing behind one of Pein's clones as he held a terrified but defiant Konohamaru by the neck. I'd met him once and had been struck by how much he reminded me of my brother Rajiv, who had the same tendency towards melodrama. Pein made a gesture and a giant force rose out of my chest, through me and went straight for the boy. I felt the raw hunger of it and I tried to pull back. It latched onto something inside of him and tugged. With less effort than I had ever felt, it pulled something human-shaped from him. Konohamaru collapsed and I felt what could only be his soul collide with mine and melt into me. I gasped as I felt it flow out of me. I turned, shocked and saw…Death. I screamed and woke up.

I yawned my way through breakfast so it was a long time before I realised that this morning was different.

"Sakura, why aren't you dressed for work?" I asked as she poured herself some juice from the fridge

"I don't have any shifts today. It took a bit of wrangling but I haven't been to a festival in about 12 years." She said taking a sip "The Hokage _finally_ understood how much I wanted to go." I shuddered as Sakura used her scary face. In a schizophrenic second she was smiling again. "So, are you looking forward to going?"

"Uh, I didn't even know there was a festival today. What are we celebrating?" I asked

"Fertility." She said with a smirk

"Seriously?" I asked

She smiled "The festival of the fishes celebrates the end of the last great ninja war. It memorialises those who died in the struggle but also celebrates those who made it through. It was meant to remind the survivors that there were still things to live for; things to protect." She said

"Uh huh?" I prompted

"Well after the end of the war, lots of people, civilians and ninja, _celebrated_ and nine months later my generation was born. After that, the festival was associated with life, survival and fertility as well as remembrance."

"Right…."I said "You guys are such perves."

"So, is that a yes, you want to go?" She asked

"Sure," I said "but I think I need to go back to bed first. I didn't sleep so well last night." I yawned

She frowned, "Don't you have a session with the Hokage this morning?"

"Yeah… but the festival? Shouldn't I have the day off?"

She started laughing in a full throated way that suggested that I had made the cutest most idiotic statement she had ever heard.

"I take it that the Hokage doesn't usually give days off, then?"

"No." she said still laughing

"I'll go get dressed." I said and rushed upstairs. The Hokage was not a woman you wanted to keep waiting.

The Hokage had heard of my ability to extend my chakra and had wanted to run a few more tests. She'd also wanted to go over everything I knew about the Akatsuki one more time (so she said). After I finished recounting their appearance, abilities, origins (as far as I remembered) and their personalities she had me go over everything I remembered about Pein's attack on Konoha. After the dream I had last night, I didn't take this as a coincidence.

"Are the Akatsuki going to attack Konoha?" I asked after describing Pein's clones

For a moment she simply watched me "It is possible. Our spies have reported that several members of the Akatsuki have left Amegakure and simply disappeared. It may be that they are eluding our trackers to carry out their regular business but it is also possible that they intend to use the festival as an opening with which to attack."

"Like Orochimaru did with the chunin exams?"

"Yes. There will be many visitors coming from the neighbouring villages so I want you to be especially careful. You are not to leave the village under any circumstances, do you understand?" she said smacking a roll of papers against the desk like she was threatening a mischievous puppy.

"Sure. I really don't have anywhere else to go anyhow. Was that all?" I asked

"Yes, unless there was something you wanted?" she asked already moving to sit behind her desk

"Actually, yes. I was wondering if you could tell me what happened to Itachi? I've asked you every time we've met and you never answer me. Is he even still alive?" I asked

For a second she looked annoyed enough to hit me, then with a glance to Crow (who closed the window), she cleared her throat and replied.

"He's alive. We haven't harmed him, if that's what you're worried about and his health is greatly improved."

"Is his eyesight any better?"

"No, unfortunately not and it probably won't get any better. There's nothing we can do. I'm no expert but the damage caused by the mangekyo seems to be permanent."

"Where is he? Is he in the village?"

"Yes...he's being kept hidden till he's needed."

"Needed? Needed for what?" I asked

She hesitated. For a long moment, she seemed to be deciding whether to answer or not. With a sigh she leaned forward resting her immense cleavage on the edge of the desk "To fight and if necessary, kill Uchiha Sasuke, his brother."

I reacted without thinking "What? You can't ask him to do that! That's his brother, he sacrificed everything for him! If you kill him now, then all of that... all of that _suffering_ will have been wasted! It's not fair!" I yelled

In the heat of my anger, I had gotten to my feet and was clenching and unclenching my hands at my sides. I took deep breaths and tried to remind myself that this woman could punch me through a wall as easily as I could suck the life from a plant.

She sighed and leaned back rubbing her eyes as though tired.

"I know, it's unfair for one brother to have to kill the other but sometimes there is no room for fairness and justice. Sasuke is going to come after his brother at _some_ point. Who knows what will happen? He could see the error of his ways, in which case I'll do my best by him for Naruto's sake if no one else's. If he attacks the village, however, I will not hesitate to have him killed and I will use all resources to do it."

As she finished speaking, she collapsed back into her chair and gazed out of the window. I wasn't sure if she would continue but she said something almost to herself.

"The good of the village comes before the needs and wants of the few." She turned to look me in the eye and my anger withered. "I would kill my oldest friend and my closest relative if it meant keeping this village safe. You can go now, I'm sure that Sakura is waiting to help you get dressed for the festival." And with that I was dismissed

I took a last look at the most powerful woman in Konoha as she gazed sadly out of the window at the village. Her expression was both wistful and sad and I remembered what Sakura had said about finding things to live for and to protect. I closed the door as quietly as I could and hurried back to the house.

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**Since I haven't done this in a while: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. If I produced Naruto, filler arcs would include Jiraiya and Naruto's, no doubt fun-filled travels and Sakura's training with Tsunade.**


	31. Party Time

**Hi guys, long time no see. Sorry I am so late in posting this.. It is already written but needs some editing. I apologise in advance for any spelling of grammatical errors, the edits for this chapter weren't saved and I had to redo them. ****Not sure how good a job I did. **Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourited or alerted, I appreciate every single one. 

**I hope you enjoy. The next chapter will be out in a day or two.**

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**PARTY TIME**

I strut in front of the mirror as Sakura finished putting on her makeup and admired the beauty of my borrowed kimono. The inner robe was the bright scarlet of fresh blood embroidered with gold thread from neck to hem while the outer robe was black embroidered with silver flowers that cascaded over the chest and down one side. The obi, the sort of stomach wrap, was a bar of solid gold with green and silver embroideries all around. The tail or trail of the wrap was long enough to just brush the tops of the wooden sandals. My hair was pulled up into a bun at the back of my head and anchored with two beautiful clips at either side. My make up was a simple light palette with bright red lipstick to match the red of the robe. It did an admirable job of covering up the scars and I felt prettier than I had since I'd gotten here.

I did a little wiggle and extended my sleeve in what I thought was a graceful motion. The heavy fabric combined with high wooden sandals and I tipped backwards. _Crap! _I thought as I fell but before I could hit the ground I was caught and tipped back unto my feet.

"Try not to do that all night. I'm not being paid to keep you safe from yourself." said Crow at his most laconic before he disappeared again.

Sakura came up behind me and I moved so she could check over her own outfit.

"You could have the scars removed, you know?" she said adjusting the band on her waist "It's not as easy as if it had been healed properly the first time but it can be done."

She turned and surveyed me with satisfaction "You look great by the way."

"Aw shucks..." I said "You look great too. I love your hair." I said and she smiled shooing my comment away with her hand

"Thanks."

I wasn't kidding either. Sakura looked gorgeous. The inner robe of her kimono was a deep rich jade that made her eyes look almost unnaturally green. The outer robe was a deep velvety looking pink that made her hair seem more vividly pink but soft and natural. Her two robes had embroidery in silver and gold that looked like fog or mist curling around jagged mountain peaks. The obi was like mine, solid gold but it had threads of jade and red in it. I looked back in the mirror at myself and couldn't help a pang of jealousy. I looked so normal compared to her. Pushing the feeling away I resolved to enjoy the night.

"Wow," came a soft exhalation "you two look amazing." said Sam

Sakura blushed, smirked and replied "You don't look so bad yourself."

She was right too. Sam looked...yummy. He wore an outer robe of dark gray over an inner robe that was a rich blue. The outer robe had black and silver embroidery from neck to hem and around the loose sleeve. The inner shirt had silver and gray embroidery from the neck to the waist of matching gray pants. He wore his usual sandals and looked both sexy and at ease in his clothes. I frowned in thought. It wasn't like Sam to spend much money on clothes, so I doubted that he's bought them. As if noticing my scrutiny,

"Kakashi-san loaned them to me. He said that women keep giving him clothes that he was never going to wear. He also said that if I wore them, they might take the hint and leave him alone." He said ruefully

"Uh, I see." I said as he laughed at my expression "It looks great, it really suits you."

"It's just something he had. I didn't care what I was wearing but he said I would look like a homeless person following you two around in what I usually wear. So, are you guys ready to go?"

"Yes." said Sakura grabbing her purse and shuffling gracefully to the door.

I took two clumsy steps before realising that I needed to shorten my stride. Sam, realising my difficulty, offered his arm in a most gentlemanly fashion, smirking at me the whole time. Sakura locked the door and took the arm Sam offered her with a little laugh. We headed out for a night of fun and games.

Even with all my strength and stamina training, I was tired by the time we decided to get dinner. It was 11pm and the village was lit up with coloured lights, lanterns and torches. Villagers and travelling entertainers manned stalls all along Konoha's main street and market area providing games, snacks and trinkets. I spent my money freely at first before I realised that I would have to save some to buy dinner. I admired at a beautiful set of katana that a metal smith was selling before hurrying to catch up with Sam and Sakura again. It was only then that I realised that I had been doing that a lot for the evening. As I drew nearer I realised that they were in the midst of a heated argument. I stopped just behind them and listened.

"There is no way that would happen." Sakura insisted

"Viral warfare is a very real possibility. It's only because you're so dependent on chakra that other military technology hasn't developed."

"That's the thing, we _do_ have viral agents; they're just dependant on chakra for transmission and survival."

"They're targeted to ninja though, where I come from, everyone can be infected. Why destroy an entire city when you can kill everyone but leave the material wealth untouched?"

_Heavy stuff_, I thought. The idea of infection brought my thoughts to Itachi. I'd been giving the whole situation some thought and had come to some disturbing conclusions. Infection had to have been purposeful. According to the Hokage's research, the species of parasite that grew to become Samehada had a difficult time breeding, enough so, that if humans hadn't found them useful and cultivated them, they would have already gone extinct. What made it more difficult was that each larva needed several human lives worth of chakra to grow to the size Kisame's sword had achieved. The likelihood that so many of the larvae had been created and transplanted to Itachi accidentally was small. What this meant was that someone, most likely Kisame himself, had infected Itachi with the creatures with the goal being to weaken or even kill him.

Someone bumped into me, apologised and scurried off. I glanced around, Sam and Sakura were nowhere to be found. I sighed and continued down the street in search of them. I was lost in a crowd of merrymakers for what seemed like ages till my stomach grumbled and my feet ached. Eventually, I found a quiet bench under a tree and sat down rubbing my aching soles.

"Crow?" I called as softly as I could but he didn't answer. "Do you know where they went?"

"Oh my god, there you are!" came Sam's very relieved and exasperated voice. He looked flushed and happy if slightly put out. "You need to keep up, I spent the last 20mins looking for you."

"You left me on the street and walked off, forcing _me_ to look for _you."_ I said pushing relief aside in favour of annoyance

"We didn't leave you. We were walking and talking and we stopped for... uh, when we stopped, we realised that you weren't there." He said still smiling but looking a little nervous too

I immediately understood. "You only realised that I was missing when you stopped to eat, right?"

Even in the rather dim light, I could see him blush. "I'm soo sorry Erica, I get distracted when I'm arguing. You know that."

I don't know what made me say it. Maybe it was a sudden realisation that I was the third wheel on a date for two.

"And it had nothing to do with how pretty Sakura looks tonight, right?" It was usually Sam in this position. He looked shocked and bewildered.

"No, of course not, I got caught up in discussing warfare and politics with her, that's all."

I like Sakura but I remembered all too well how strongly she felt about a certain traitorous Uchiha and I didn't want to see Sam get hurt.

"Are you sure, you don't want me to head home and leave you love birds alone? I'm pretty tired so I wouldn't mind."

"Don't be silly Erica, I haven't seen you much these past weeks and it's not a date, so stop suggesting that it is. Sakura and I are just friends." He replied, still blushing

I let out an exaggerated breath of relief, "Thank God. She'll never get over Sasuke and I wouldn't want you to be disappointed." I said getting up "Where are we eating?"

In the act of saying something, he paused. "What do you mean? What does Sasuke have to do with anything?" he asked, honestly puzzled

Well fuck, didn't he know about Sakura and Sasuke? "Sakura is in love with Sasuke." I said

He frowned "That can't be right. She wouldn't like someone like him. He's a traitor, a killer." He said

I should leave it here, my better sense said. I'd grown to like Sakura a lot and I was beginning to understand that Sam's feelings were deeper than maybe even he imagined and I could be wrong.

"Of course Sam. She loved him when they were genin together. I'm sure that she doesn't feel that way now." I said "Maybe we should get going, I feeling pretty tir..."

"She's never said anything about it."

I made a scoffing sound "Well, she wouldn't, I'm sure she's not proud of it." I said equably

He shook his head and seemed to clear whatever he was thinking away. "You're right." He glanced at me and his eyes brightened. He tilted his head as though trying to decide something. "Now is as good a time as any I suppose. Erica, I have something for you. I was saving it for dinner but the restaurant is pretty loud so I'll just tell you now. I've almost figured out a way to get us home."

"What?" I said

"It's not a sure thing but it's the best chance we have."

"How?"

He sat down and pulled me down gently next to him. After gathering his thoughts, he switched to his I've-practiced-explaining-this voice.

"Science doesn't really work here, at least not the science that we know. It took me a long time to figure out that chakra was some kind of sub atomic force that seems uncommonly malleable in this universe. The force exists in different varieties corresponding to different resonant frequencies. Humans are made of common elements which manage to exert some kind of control over these subatomic forces both inside of themselves and in the outside world...Yes Erica?" he asked, miffed at being interrupted

"Can I get the cliff note version, please?"

"This is the cliff note version."

"... ok."

Sigh. "To make a short story event shorter, I realised that there was no way that I could build an atom compressor here that would work like the one back home. I could build the exact same machine and it wouldn't work here like it's supposed to. The make-up of this world is just too different. The forces are much _looser_, for a lack of a better word, than in our world. Do you understand?"

"Yes, how does this help us get home, then?"

"It occurred to me that to open a portal here I would have to use the science that works _here._ That is to say, that I would have to find some way to use powerful chakra forces to open a hole into our world. Since then I've been reading, well trying to read up on the theoretical nature of chakra and... I've finally found something that works."

"Kakashi's mangekyo sharingan?" I guessed

He opened his mouth and closed it again. "Wait, how do you know that?"

"It was in the anime. His sharingan creates a kind of wormhole that can rip people's limbs off."

"You knew this the whole time and you never said anything?" he said irately

"How was I supposed to know you were looking for something like that? You never told me what you were working on!" I yelled and we both calmed down "Sorry. Next time you can ask me stuff like that, heaven knows I've repeated everything I know a bazillion times. Is that what you wanted to tell me? Cus if it is, that's still a huge achievement, after all, you've only been here for a few months." I said

"Actually, I've been here for about 4mths but anyway no, that's not everything. The wormhole that his sharingan creates is powerful but it's very unstable and he's pretty sure that it warps back into this world. He's done some experimenting and..."

"heh heh heh, I just bet he has..." I said in my most perverted tone. What? I was tired and hungry and it was making me feel loopy and little annoyed

Shooting me a look of combined disgust and amusement he continued "Yeah, anyway, stuff that goes into the worm hole generally come out somewhere nearby but not instantly. Plus there's no good way to boost the power of the jutsu and I think it would tear us apart if we got too near it, so I had to find something similar in effect but more stable or at least more controllable."

"Uh huh..." I prompted

"Naruto's rasengan."

"Uh huh, the same rasengan that can gouge holes in trees?"

"Well yeah but it functions the same as the atom compressor. Chakra can be gathered and compressed into a point of infinite density causing a rip in fabric of reality. The problem, of course is that it's dangerous to Naruto. It could permanently damage his cells if he uses it too much. There's also no way to know where we will end up. I think that if we open a worm hole at the place we came through that it should open into our world but there are no guarantees. And well... it's possible that it won't work the way I estimate and it could kill us." He said "We've sent things through and they haven't come out but that's no guarantee that it works. We're going to try some new things but again, we can't test it too much." He saw my expression and his words stopped.

"What's the matter?" he asked "I know it seems like a long-shot but with enough work, I can make it work." He tried to say more but I shook my head and he stopped again.

"Sam, I love you and you are my best friend but that's insane."

"It's not perfect but it shows that there's hope for us to go home. I thought that was what you wanted?" he said

I glanced up at the star strewn sky and then back to his trouble face. "Sam, I think that we are never going to get home. I think that the chances of us ending up here are so infinitesimal that it is impossible to replicate it." I looked him in the eye. "I've made some peace with it and I hope that you can too." I got up to walk away

"Erica, wait." He said and grabbed my arm pulling me off balance. I tipped and fell heavily against his chest. He caught me with a hand encircling each arm. He was strong enough that my weight falling against him hadn't been enough to budge him. I could feel his rapid breathing and I was sure he could hear how fast my heart was beating.

"Sam," I said breathily, both startled by the almost fall and by his sudden presence "I can stand up now."

He ignored me, "Erica, I swear to you that I will get you home, even if it takes me a lifetime."

"Sam...please." I said, not sure what I wanted to say even as I said it "I can't take...I don't want to be disappointed. I know that you'll try your best but...just give it up, Sam, just give up." I said feeling my eyes water up

"You can't mean that. There isn't anything for me back home, but what about your family; your mom and dad. What about Rajiv and Sanjay? Is it that you don't think I can do it? Is it that you don't think I'm not smart enough? Not dedicated enough?" I wasn't the only one who looked teary eyed now. Before I could react, he pulled me into an almost suffocating embrace "Erica..." he breathed into my ear "I would change the nature of this world if I could make you happy again." He said "I think...I think I love you."

I started crying. This was the one conversation I had hoped never to have with Sam. I'd always thought, naively I knew, that Sam would outgrow me; that he would find someone to love and forget that he had ever wanted to be more than friends.

"Sam..." I tried to speak but kept hiccupping "I believe...I know that you can do _anything_. You're the smartest, strongest, bravest person I've ever met. You've gone through so much...If it had been me, I wouldn't have become half the person you are. You're amazing but..." I couldn't say it, coward that I was I stood there and let the tears flow and hoped that he would take pity on me and leave it at that.

He sounded so tired when he spoke "But what, Erica? I'm amazing..."bitterness "I'm amazing but what?"

Dammit. "But, I don't love you the way you love me. You're my friend, my very best friend but that's it, nothing more. I'm so sorry."

I felt him nod and he pulled away, setting me steadily on my feet. He turned and stared off past the tree into the darkness for what seemed like ages.

"Are you sure?" he asked quietly but calmly "Are you sure, you don't want me to try to get you home?"

"I want to go home," so bad he had no idea "but, I don't want you to waste you life trying to do it. Let go and try to be happy. What happened wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault and giving up your life won't make it any better. I want you to be happy." I said clenching my hands to resist touching him

He turned and for a moment met my eyes before looking behind me. "Okay. I...I have to go. Can you get home by yourself?" he asked, voice inflectionless

I swallowed and tried to sound as neutral as he did. "Yeah, I can." I said

He nodded and did something I'd never seen him do. He ran away from me.

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	32. The Kiss

**Hey guys, sorry I didn't post this in time. No excuses, I suck...heh heh heh...uh...Anyway. I hope you enjoy. Next chapter is finished and awaiting editing. Review if you can. I appreciate the feedback and it's nice to hear from you guys. If you think that I suck as a writer, I may get a tad bit defensive but I will always concede that you have a right to your opinion. Bleh! I'm tired. I'll try to be good and post again soon. **

**I don't own Naruto. If I did, I probably wouldn't change much. **

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**THE KISS**

Once he was gone, I collapsed unto the bench and cried. When I felt I could function again, I began hunting in my little purse for tissue only to find that I hadn't packed any. I looked at the sleeves of the kimono but refused to foul such a beautiful thing with selfish tears. As if by magic, a handkerchief appeared in front of my face.

"Thanks." I muttered

"Keep it." said Crow as he moved to lean against the tree. "Can I ask you a question?"

I gave one more wipe and looked up at him. I wanted to reply that he already had but just couldn't do it. "Sure." I answered instead

"Why? Why would you do that? He had a purpose as long as he felt he was doing something for you, he had a reason to live and better himself and you had someone working to get you home. Why would you throw that away? Is it because you don't love him?"

I considered not answering but it was a good question, one that I wasn't sure that I had the answer to. "It's not the...the love thing. I've known that Sam liked me as more than a friend for a while now. I didn't want to acknowledge it so I ignored it. I got really good at pretending that it didn't exist. Anyway, that's not why…." I leaned back against the hard bench and stared up into the sky." I don't want Sam to waste his life driven by... guilt or chivalry or whatever makes him want to spend his life making me happy. I can make myself happy, thank you very much... well most of the time anyway." I said turning to him with a rueful smile "It's like what Sakura did to Naruto when she made him promise to bring Sasuke home. I don't want that for Sam. I want him to be free to do the things that _he_ wants to do, the things that make _him_ happy… Bleh, I hate monologuing." I said and got to my feet. I almost handed him the soggy handkerchief but decided that I would wash it and then return it.

He didn't answer at first but seemed to be thinking.

"Crow, I think I'm ready to go home now but I fibbed about knowing how to get there so if you could give me some directions..."

He turned to look at me... I think. _Cursed mask._ "Well, we could do that" he replied "or we could go get something to eat, watch the fireworks and _then_ head back. It seems much more enjoyable don't you think?" he head tilted at me

I sighed at his shameless attempt to con more food out of me. "Oh fine, just get me food and get it fast." I said smoothing my kimono.

"Of course. How do you feel about barbeque?"

We didn't end up getting barbeque or any kind of sit down meal. I didn't want to take the chance of running into Sakura... and Sam, so I avoided the restaurants altogether. Instead, I bought every snack I could find, from squid on a stick to shrimp filled dumplings to skewers of meat that brought back memories of Deidara. I was licking my fingers when Crow stopped. He had been sort of leading me along while I ate, so it took me a moment to figure out where I was. We stood in a crowded square at the base of the Hokage monument. It felt pretty late but all around me people were full of anticipation and excitement. Crow led me to a quiet corner away from the crowd. Tossing his empty skewer into the trash he scanned the area around us. Seeming satisfied, he slumped gracefully against the wall.

"What now?" I asked and fought a yawn

"The fireworks should be starting in..." Something caught his attention and I followed his gaze.

Sitting at the edge of the square was a box of what looked like giant sticks of dynamite. Rummaging in the box and looking sinister was a sooty Konohamaru. I didn't see his friends but I doubted they were far away.

Crow made a sound of annoyance and turned to me. "Do not move. I will be keeping an eye on you but you have to stay in the square." He said suddenly all business. "Do you understand?"

"Yeah, of course. Are those dynamite or firew..." but I was talking to myself because Crow was already walking away with purposefully ominous strides. I saw Konohamaru realise that he had been spotted when...

"Excuse me," came a soft yet confident voice. I jumped and turned. "I see you're here by yourself, you wouldn't happen to have a partner for the fireworks would you?" he asked in a casual manner

"Huh?" I asked. He smirked at me and I flicked a quick glance to where Crow was wrestling a lit torch out of the boy's hand. "What are you talking about?" I asked finally looking at him

He wasn't a tall man, maybe only 3 or four inches taller than me with sandy brown hair and eyes a shade of blue that shifted to gray in the flickering light. He wore ninja wear and looked scuffed and a little dirty as though he had just come back from a mission. Wrapped around his bicep was a Konoha headband. He smiled but his eyes were laughing at me. "You're not from the village, are you?" he asked solemnly

"Well, no." I said casting another look at Crow who was now trying to separate Konohamaru from his female team mate, who was apparently trying to kill him. I looked back to the ninja quickly but he didn't seem to mind that my attention had wandered.

"Is he your boyfriend?" he asked following my gaze

The expression on my face made him laugh, "Not boyfriend, then. That means that you're a guest and you must be pretty important to have your own personal guard, _especially_ on a busy night like this. You must be a princess; I've always wanted to kiss a princess." He said with a silly, thoughtful look. I laughed.

"That is the worst come on I've ever heard. Why would I kiss you? I don't even know you." I said and held my purse tighter in case I needed to use it as a weapon. "I'm not kissing anyone tonight." I said a little sadly, thinking of Sam.

"Hmm, well you and I will be the only ones left out then...well us and your anbu but he's working so that's to be expected." He said

I frowned, "I don't understand. Why would everyone be kissing?"

He looked surprised. "Because it's tradition." Seeing my confusion, he explained "It's a tradition to kiss someone on the night of the festival as soon as the first fireworks explode in the sky. It's supposed to bring good luck and happiness. Haven't you noticed all the couples?" he asked nodding to the crowd

I had noticed that there were a lot of couples but had assumed it was just people going to the festival together. "And you want to kiss _me_?" I asked "Why?"

"I could say that I find you beautiful and intriguing or I could say that I didn't have time to find a date and I _could_ use some luck." He said rubbing a hand into his already mussed hair.

I clasped my hands in front of me before replying "I suppose I could, I mean, who couldn't use some good luck? What do I have to ..." I didn't get to finish.

There was a boom and I turned in time to see a flower made of gold and red sparkles explode in the air. I turned back to ask the ninja if we were supposed to kiss now, when he caught my face in his hands and pressed his mouth to mine. It must have been a long time since I'd been kissed because the sensations blew my socks off. It was overwhelming. I could feel, the heat coming off his body and his slightly calloused hands on my face. I'd expected him to smell sweaty but he didn't smell of anything at all. Before I could get my wits about me, it was over. He looked a little unfocused as he patted me awkwardly on the head. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" he said voice husky. He coughed to clear it as a fresh wave of fireworks filled the sky. His eyes flicked to it and mine followed. When I turned back, he was gone. I swore, then, thoroughly freaked out. That was how Crow found me;

"I wasn't gone that long," Came Crow's laconic, somewhat amused voice "but it was apparently long enough for you to have some fun." He said

"What took you so long? I could have been murdered in the time it took you to get back here." I said annoyed because I was embarrassed, even knowing that I was an adult who shouldn't feel embarrassed by kissing someone "Seriously, you're a frigging Anbu and it took you 15 minutes to scare off three genin?"

"Oh, but I didn't want to interrupt. After all, one doesn't witness love at first sight every day." He said with a smirk in his voice

"It was _not_ love...I was just kissing him because of the tradition thing... You know with the festival..." I petered off as reality and realisation hit me. "Crow, don't judge me but have you ever heard of a tradition of kissing someone when the fireworks go off?" I recounted what the guy had said and it was to Crow's credit that he didn't laugh till I was done. By then, of course, he didn't need to answer.

"So I got conned, huh?" I said feeling annoyance (at myself) warring with amusement. I touched my bottom lip and remembered how good of a kiss it had been. Amusement won and I started snickering and then laughing. When I could breathe again, I felt much better than I had before. "It was a very good kiss." I concluded finally "I just hope I never see him again, though."

Crow tilted his head at me "Embarassed?" he asked

I mimicked the head tilt and smirked. "Nope, I just want to spare you some trouble. The next time I see him, I'm going to punch him in the face."

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	33. The Force of Change

**Oh hi there everyone. I am sorry for posting so late. I have like five chapters that have to be edited and it's driving me crazy! I know I'm supposed to be wrapping up but damn the fights alone took...uh... Forget I said anything. Fights? What fights? Now if you asked about the inv...umm... *points away* Oh look a bird! Anyway, enjoy the chapter. God willing I will have the next part edited and up by Thursday. **

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**THE FORCE OF CHANGE**

I got home before Sakura and decided that I wasn't going to wait for her to let me in. Pulling off the outer robe and my sandals, I ignored the fine art of ninja wall walking and climbed the tree. I'd left the window open so it was a relatively easy jump across to my window. I took the time to change into my night clothes, (shorts and a Tshirt) before going downstairs to retrieve the remainder of the borrowed clothes. Laying them out on her bed, I went back to my room already thinking about the possibility of getting my own apartment. As I waited to fall asleep I couldn't help feeling a little glad about how things had turned out. Sam might be upset but I couldn't imagine him hating me because I had rejected him. He'd be upset for a while but once he'd had some time to put it in perspective, life should go back to normal, mostly anyway.

Much more troubling was his affection for Sakura. I wanted him to have someone but I didn't really want it to be her. She was a good person but her life was...complex; main character complex. Sam needed someone stable who didn't get into trouble as much as I did. I yawned and turned over. Rubbing my face catlike against my pillow and I tried to still my mind so that my tired body could rest. The kiss... all I could think about was that stupid stolen kiss.

"Bastard." I muttered to myself with a smile.

It was a very good kiss, skilful and confident; the way his hands felt holding my face. Growling at my stupidity, I felt suddenly warm all over. I tossed the blanket away before reluctantly dragging it back. I was being watched and by a guy; sleeping half naked was no longer an option. _A lot of…private activities were not really an option._ I thought, both annoyed and frustrated. I closed my eyes stubbornly but couldn't sleep.

Something was prickling the edge of my consciousness. I hadn't showered and the scent of Sakura's borrowed perfume was faint but noticeable against my skin. I snuggled deeper into the firm warmth of the bed wondering what kind of perfume she used. It was a little spicy for my tastes but...I had a moment of dizzying realisation followed by an 'oh my god how the fuck did I miss that' feeling. I remembered Crow's lesson on hand signs and the strangely sweet scent. It took me back to the trip I'd taken on Itachi's back. Was it the same smell? Was I imagining the similarity?

I snorted and turned again. That was ridiculous but then again... where was Itachi? I remembered asking the Hokage that very question not 12 hours before. She hadn't answered...or had she? Her eyes had flicked immediately (perhaps unconsciously) to Crow who may have covered for her by closing the window. She's never done that before during any of our debriefing sessions. I hadn't given it a second thought. But I'd come close to Crow this afternoon when he caught me. I hadn't smelt anything unusual then. But after I mentioned it to him, wouldn't it make sense for him to stop using whatever it was that made him so noticeable?

Itachi Uchiha was my food mooching Anbu guard? That didn't make any sense. Frustrated I sat up running a hand through my hair. They were nothing alike personality wise. Crow wasn't a chatterbox but he was a hell of a lot more responsive than Itachi and he's never once said Hn. It simply wasn't possible for Itachi to be Crow. He had been a prisoner when we got here and really weak after the surgery.

Plus, guarding me would surely be a monumental waste of his time. Even if they decided to use Itachi and not lock him up (as was more likely) I doubted that they'd make him my babysitter. I was as safe as I would be anywhere in the ninja world and Itachi's skills were legendary.

With that decided, I flopped back against my pillow determined to sleep no matter how many idiotic distractions presented themselves.

The Anbu known as Crow watched the girl fall asleep for what seemed like the thousandth time. She had a routine though he doubted she knew it. St first, she would lie on her back before rolling unto her left side and then her right and then curling up. When she was almost out, she would flip over unto her stomach and press her face into the pillow. She snored sometimes.

He sighed in mild annoyance with himself. He was pretty bored at night while she slept. He was a bit of an insomniac who didn't need more than three or four hours a night. Useful as that was to an Anbu, it left him with a lot of time on his hands before Kitten (as named by Erica) came to relieve him four hours before dawn. He sat on the windowsill and withdrew his borrowed copy of an infamous orange book and began to read.

Between his duties and his family, he'd never had much time to read novels so this one pulled him in like a whirlpool. It was testament to his ability that he was still very much aware of the world around him. He stopped at a particularly heated section, unwilling to let his focus wander any further than it had already.

However, without the book to distract him, his mind strayed to The Kiss. He couldn't believe he'd actually done it and that she didn't suspect a thing. It had been almost too easy requiring only a well time kage bunshin, a henge and Erica's easily distractible nature. He knew he should feel guilty for deceiving her but it had seemed like such a harmless thing. It had accomplished his goal of distracting her from her troubles and had provided a wealth of material for future teasing and blackmail.

Exhaling silently he leaned back and contemplated his own selfishness because as good as he was at deceiving others, he wasn't nearly so good at deceiving himself. He'd _wanted_ to kiss her. He had a few theories about why that was but whatever the underlying reason, he found himself attracted to her. He sighed silently. It wasn't that surprising really. His life had been a mess for so long that in this unaccustomed period of relaxation his thoughts had turned to things of a more frivolous nature. In other words, his carefully organised and controlled mind was turning against him. He couldn't' say that he was bothered by that, although he felt he should be. It seemed like a natural enough reaction and he had no intention of it going any further. Erica was a beautiful girl and they had been spending a great deal of time together. She was an easy person to be around; kind and guileless. At the same time, he didn't really understand her and that was a very new, strangely attractive feeling. It was hard to believe. He'd broken down, analysed and manipulated countless people but Erica was a puzzle. Her behaviour was erratic, by turns optimistic and pessimistic, both painfully honest and a pretty convincing liar. She was both kind and violent by turns. It wasn't insanity either, as much as he thought that when she annoyed him. It was as though there were too many missing pieces to make a full picture of her. It was a strange challenge since he probably knew more about her than anyone but Sam.

With some effort he pulled away from his musings and made the mistake of looking at his charge. At some point during his reading she had kicked off the blanket and changed position. Lying on her back, her Tshirt had tugged and bunched up baring her legs, hips and stomach as far up as her sternum. Crow froze as his brow scrunched.

Her skin was a brown that was almost golden in the pale glow of the streetlight. Her hair, tussled from restless turning tangled about her body and spread out in every direction. Uncomfortable and uncommon feelings began to warm inside of him. He took a deep breath and reached down, slowly pulling the blanket up and over her body. Once he reached her waist he paused for a moment and then pulled the fabric up to the girl's neck. He felt himself smirk and knowing she was a deep sleeper, pulled the fabric straight over her head. She immediately began to fuss and without waking kicked it until it was at her waist again. Straightening his face, he took a customary seat by the window and opened his book again.

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	34. Before the Storm

**Hi! Very short chapter I know but it had stuff that needed to be said so... Anyway, I made my deadline! Yay! I hope I can keep it up. Next chapter out by Sunday. **

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**BEFORE THE STORM**

It was the earliest hours of the morning; the quietest time in most places. The forest around him had grown quieter and Pein was already tired. The rods stuck in his body ached and itched like insects burrowing into his flesh. Konan was fixing something for him to eat but he wasn't hungry. He knew that would cause a fight and he wasn't looking forward to it. It _would_ be a welcome change from the unsavoury nature of his dark thoughts.

The plan would succeed, he knew. He had gone over it a hundred times in his mind, planning for every eventuality before he had even told Konan about it. Attacking Konoha was simply an expedient means to an end. They could collect the jinchuuriki, eliminate a traitor and acquire a useful source of information. As to the other part of the plan, the plan beneath the plan, he refused to even think on it. In the best case, he would never need to use it. He then focused his incredible mind on the members of his team, making sure that each was where he should be. He trusted them but only as far as he could control them and all control had its limits.

Instead of the usual two man cells, he had divided them into threes. Hidan, Kisame and Zetsu were on one team with Deidara, Tobi and Kakuzu on the other. Kisame's team had been assigned to retrieve Erica and eliminate Itachi (if he was still alive) while Deidara's team secured the jinchuriki; Uzumaki Naruto. He and his paths were responsible for creating enough of a diversion to make all the other tasks (and a few secret ones of his own) as quick and efficient as possible.

He put his plans aside as Konan came to him with hot rice pudding and strong sweet coffee. She looked worried but forced a smile nonetheless. She had been against the attack claiming that it would endanger his health but he had decided and in the end she supported him. She always supported him. She placed the food on the table and brushed impatiently at a stray lock of hair. The action changed her from a woman back to the girl he had met so long ago. For a weak moment he wished that life could be different for her... and for him. He forced a smile that only she had ever seen.

"Hungry?" she asked

"Starving." He replied

.

.

.

Tsunade had drunk nothing the previous night and she was very cranky. She'd watched young couples strolling the streets, drinking and dicing and regretted ever meeting the miserable blonde who had conned her into this job. She smiled to herself as she remembered his bright smiling face. Shaking off her exhaustion, she packed up the files she had been working on and prepared to go home. It was a good day; Konoha had not been attacked in its moment of weakness and life could go on for a little while longer. As she shoved some empty bottles into her overstuffed drawers, she wondered how her assistants' nights had been. _Probably more enjoyable than hers had been, _shethought sourly. Sakura had taken the night to enjoy the festival and keep an eye on their guests while Shizune had gone barhopping with Anko. She could only imagine the trouble those two had caused. She smiled and turned to take one last look through her enormous windows.

It was beautiful. Konoha was coming alive in the first hints of dawn. The children of fire were waking to another day where children could play and life would go on. Sighing happily, she closed the door and headed home.

.

.

.

The sun was peaking over the crest of the wall and the whole village was waking up. The guards at the Konoha's main gate were exhausted and more than ready for the change of guard that would come just after the sun rose. Izuru Hanami, sat listlessly in the small hut just inside the entrance and sipped wearily at his tea. He was tired and hungry. His partner Momo, (the man was a big as a tailed beast but the round chubby cheeks of a squirrel) was asleep and snoring where he sat. Whenever the large man made an exceptionally loud snort or snuffle, Izuru would jump and spill some of the hot liquid unto his hands. He contemplated waking the man but three things stopped him. One, Momo was a cranky wretch when awoken from a nap. Two, he and Momo had been worked to the bone the night before. Even so, gentle, patient Momo had volunteered to usher out the last of the stragglers and ruffians once the festival had ended. And three, waking him would require more effort than he was willing to expend at that moment. He sighed deeply and stood trying to shake off lethargy while envisioning the warmth of his bed and the softness of his wife's body.

As he stretched, a giant beast like nothing he had ever seen appeared before him. Before he could respond or sound the alarm, Momo, the guard booth and he himself, were crushed beneath the monster's mass.

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	35. And so it begins

**Hi there, I know I'm a little late but it's a nice long chappie. I hope you enjoy it. Any mistake I made is due to pure laziness...I apologise. Enjoy!**

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**AND SO IT BEGINS**

I woke with a start and for a moment couldn't understand what had woken me. Then an explosion shook the house and I jumped to my feet. I'd learned my lesson by that point and the first thing I did was put on my jeans and then my most comfortable pair of training shoes. I was pulling my hair up into a ponytail when the door swung open revealing a fully dressed and armed Sakura.

"What's going on?" I asked pulling my hair tight

"The village is under attack. I need to get you to the Hokage. Come on." She said and ran downstairs. She wasn't moving as fast as she could and I caught up with her as she reached the door to the kitchen.

"Sakura, is it the Akatsuki?"

"I don't know yet but it seems likely. Why, did the Hokage say something to you?" we were at the back door now

"Sort of. Are they after me or are they here for Naruto?" I asked

Sakura didn't answer as she calmly jumped her neighbour's back fence. I spared a thought to warn the Shizuka's but their house looked deserted. They were either still in bed, deaf or they had already left. More or less with the same ease, I grabbed the fence and vaulted over, landing on the circular that ran parallel to Sakura's street. Sakura was running sure footed ahead of me...until she wasn't. I barely had time to stop before I collided with her. I glanced around her to see what the problem and froze. Standing in the middle of the street was Hoshigaki Kisame. His smile caught the light and reflected a terrifying amount of white in the morning sun. He unstrapped Samehada.

"Now which of you is first?" he asked

Sakura tugged her gloves tighter on her hands. Keeping my eyes on Kisame, I moved to stand with her. I was terrified but all we needed was to distract him long enough for us to get away.

As if sensing my thought, "No Erica, I'll distract him and _you_ get away." To Kisame she shouted "Don't even look at her. Today, _I_ am your opponent."

"No." replied a sure and all too familiar voice. "I am." Crow seemed to appear next to me. "Sakura-san, take Erica to the Hokage. I'll see to things here."

He moved to stand almost in front of her though where he came from I have no idea. She looked to object but he raised a hand to silence her.

"The Hokage made us aware that something of this nature might occur, I am prepared." He then turned sideways to face us but still see the enemy. "Trust me."

Sakura nodded but I was far from convinced.

"Crow, he's Akatsuki, remember that. If you get the chance, run. Don't let him kill you." I said just as Sakura grabbed me and pulled me unto her shoulder.

We were almost a block away when I started to struggle.

"Sakura stop! We have to go back. Crow doesn't stand a chance against Kisame! He'll die. Dammit Sakura! We need to go back and help him!"

"There's nothing we can do to help him! His job was to keep you safe and that's what he's doing. If we go back, we'll just be a burden!" She said yelling over the wind.

We were passing through the centre of town by then. Buildings had been damaged and rubble lay piled on the street. Villagers scurried away carrying bundles of possessions and small children heading away from where the fighting was occurring. Ninja rushed towards the fight or took wounded comrades towards the general hospital.

There was a huge shudder and the ground rumbled. A blast of air shoved Sakura forcing her to stoop low to the ground and channel chakra to her hands, sticking herself to the ground. It did not stick me.

I flew backwards away from Sakura and collided with something hard, knocking the air out of my lungs. It was a good thing too. _Why did this keep happening to me? Why?_ Zetsu looked down at me and I felt my body shudder in shock and terror. Without a word, he shoved me behind him and I collided with a more familiar figure. Hidan didn't wait for instructions. He pulled his hand back and lay a stunning smack against the side of my head. I heard bells clang as white noise and broken glass filled my head.

When I could think again, I realised that I was no longer standing on the street. I lay on a small bed under a vibrant pink canopy supporting a constellation of silver stars. To my left lay a spindly table overflowing with stuffed animals and dolls. Some small motion drew my attention and I froze. I wasn't alone but I'd known that all along hadn't I? I turned as though my joints were rusty. Leaning against the window (in a pose reminiscent of Itachi) was Hidan. His hair glistened in the light that warmed and gilded his usually pale flesh. He turned hard violet eyes to mine. I scrambled backward, all of my training forgotten drowned in a flood of terror. The sheet tangled under me. I would have fallen if he didn't grab me and pull me back unto the bed and coincidentally against him. _Coincidentally, right..._ We ended up both lying partly on the narrow bed with his hands bunched in the shoulders of my shirt with his face inches from mine. My legs we pressed together trapped completely between the iron of his thighs. Uncomfortable, I turned my eyes away from him and stared instead at his chin. Moments passed and he didn't let go. I tried not to think of our relative positions but even as I pushed the thought away, I could feel him lean in against me.

"Look at me." He commanded.

I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"Look at me or I'll cut your eyelids off." He said

I looked at him. For a moment, he seemed to be looking into my eyes and right through me. It was absolutely the most intimate thing I had ever experienced and certainly the most uncomfortable, including his bloody kiss. I struggled and he clutched me tight enough that I could scarcely breathe. It was in those moments that my brain restarted and I realised that I was not helpless. I tried to wriggle my hands to bare skin but he seemed to anticipate this response. Without any effort, he grabbed the long sleeves of my tshirt and used them to tug my arms up and over my head. I kicked and struggled but apart from the erratic jiggling of the mattress, it had no effect.

I grit my teeth in frustration. After all that damn training, I was helpless at the hands of this madman, _again_! I really hated him in that moment but I hated me more. I could use my ability to attack him but for me to do it, I needed to calm down and focus even if calm was the last thing I was feeling. I forced the air in and out of my lungs, trying to steady myself.

"What do you want?" I asked forcing my eyes to meet his

For a moment I wasn't sure he would answer then his hands tightened painfully on my arms. He growled "I want you out of my head, bitch!"

I couldn't have been more surprised if he'd confessed undying love.

"What?" I asked

He didn't answer. Instead his mouth descended on mine with heated fervour. I had my skin to skin contact but no air and no thought. His hands released mine and slid down to my sides, caressing the whole way. His weight moved from on top of me, to the side. He used his face to nudge mine to the side and proceeded to kiss along my neck to my ear. _Holy shit!_ I thought numbly. _What the fuck is happening? Is this better or worse than him trying to kill me? Should I try to use my ability on him now? Why am I even asking that? Of course I should._ As I coiled the energy inside me, Hidan who had been happily nibbling at my ear pulled back with a furious roar. As he stood with the light of the window at his back, I could just make out the shift in his expression. He went from heated and confused to absolutely homicidally furious in no time at all. This time I didn't hesitate. I rolled over and backwards, throwing myself off the bed.

"What the fuck have you done to me you demon whore?"

"Huh?" was my witty repartee as I backed slowly to the door behind me.

He was breathing hard enough to hyperventilate; his chest going red followed shortly by his face. Without any warning he flung several kunai at me. I dodged and rolled but when I reached the door behind me, I realised that he had used the weapons to pin the door shut.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck was all that kept circulating in my head. I coiled my chakra within me hoping to God that he moved in range, at the same time hoping that he didn't get close enough the kill me. It was a futile hope on both counts. He threw himself across the room and as I raised my hands to grab unto him, he punched me in the stomach knocking my breath out of me. I crumpled to the floor, gasping and heaving. It hurt so much. Hunched over as I was, I barely felt the blade bite into the soft flesh on my arm. I looked up in time to see him skim his tongue over the blade tasting the blood that coated it. He turned his eyes heavenward

"Jashin sama hear my prayer and accept the offering of your servant." Without hesitation he slashed his own wrist and blood gushed. Still muttering his prayers he flung the bed one handed against the wall and proceeded to draw out the symbol of his faith in his own dripping blood. I glanced at the open window and closed my eyes, slumping over. A part of me was ready to give up and beg for a quick death but the other part, the stronger part began the rhythm of breathing that I had instilled in myself after weeks of practice. I closed my eyes and reached. My shoulder exploded in pain.

It was too late...for Hidan.

I felt my chakra take hold of his just as his stake dug into the flesh of his shoulder. Like tiny hooked mouths my chakra latched onto his. It pulled, wrenching his energy away from him faster and harder in the panic caused by my pain. I forced myself to slow the force to a trickle to avoid overloading my pathways and passing out. I'm not sure how much energy I can take but I pulled enough into my core to bring the Jashinist to his knees.

I got to my feet slowly feeling drunken and elated. The pain of a moment before was gone and I felt as strong as a god. Power was still filtering its way through my core and into my body and I felt fucking great!

Walking over to where he knelt I grabbed the spike he'd dropped during my attack. I moved within reach and kicked him hard across the floor. I felt the impact dully and a small bit of myself filtered through, enough to wonder what the hell I was planning to do. The greater part of me knew. He had kidnapped me, hurt me and threatened me. Above all else, he had frightened me, really and truly down to my bones. I'd felt weak, I'd trembled and even though he lay bleeding at my feet, I was still scared of him.

I kicked him again knocking him over and sending my chakra into him. He screamed and a part of me screamed with him. This wasn't right, this wasn't me. With great effort, I pulled my energy in and took a step back. I looked at the spike in my hand and the man struggling to his feet. I couldn't kill him, I knew. He was for all intents and purposes immortal. I could pull him limb from limb and his pieces would still come after me. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't notice I was no longer alone. Hidan pulled himself up effortlessly to his feet and threw himself out of the window. He landed hard on the ground, cursing weakly. Behind him stood Asuma's team; Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru and the jounin himself. Shikamaru stood as his shadow wrapped itself more firmly to Hidan's own.

"Well, I guess she didn't need us after all." came Asuma's drawl. "Hey kid, are you ok?" he asked taking out his trench knives and calmly beginning to dismember the S class nin.

"Umm, I'm okay, I think. I can't get down though, the door's..." I searched for a word to describe 'sealed shut by kunai' "fucked up."

"Don't worry, we'll get you down. Chouji, rescue the damsel from her tower." He said as he sliced off Hidan's second arm.

"I swear to Jashin that I will kill every fucking one of you. I will rip your eyes from you worthless heathen heads and ..." He yelled sounding frightened and exhausted. Asuma calmly cut his head off. "You motherfucker! You cut my fucking head off!"

It was so weird that I found myself smirking and then snickering. Poor Chouji must have thought I'd lost it but kind guy that he was, he didn't say anything.

"You need to get to the Tower Erica. The Hokage will be waiting for you. Be careful and stay off the main streets. We have to take him to containment but a unit would have been deployed to you by now. I'd cut across Training Ground 6 and skirt around the city. I would wish you luck but," he glanced down at the dismembered Akatsuki. "I don't think you need it." With a smirk, he and his team vanished.

I can't say that I was thrilled at being left alone again. I didn't seem to have a very good track record with that but I took his advice and began a quick jog around the city headed to training ground six.

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	36. Crow vs Kisame

**Hello everybody! Here is the next chapter and it's a fight! I did my best with it, so I hope it came out okay. Thanks go to SakuraEmma29 for reviewing and favouriting (she's awesome!), only to forget for alerting, Snevilly for reviewing all my stories (I totally squee'd), Aweri for Alerting and Yandere Yuno-Chan for the favourites. I sometimes forget to thank you guys but a lot of the desire and joy of writing comes from you. Thank you to all of you.**

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**CROW VS KISAME**

Crow waited till the girls were out of sight then calmly removed his Anbu mask. As the mask slipped away so did Crow's personality. With the camouflage gone, the heavy weight of his responsibility descended on his shoulders once more. He looked up and met Kisame's shocked expression.

"Kisame," He said, acknowledging his former partner "I've learned some interesting things about your sword's reproductive cycle that I'd like to discuss with you." Reaching up he removed his cloak and stripped off the Anbu vest. He didn't need the extra weapons but needed all the speed he could get.

"Really?" Kisame replied, loosening the wrapping on his sword, eyes narrowing. "How about we skip the talking and get to the real stuff?"

He swung the great parasite outwards and the spikes bristled into its offensive position. "Unless of course you want to ask why I did it or something stupid like that?" he added mockingly

Pushing his shortened hair back, Itachi activated the sharingan for the first time in months.

"No, I know why you infected me. I don't care about that. What I want to know is why you didn't attack me when we fought at the border. If you had joined the battle, I could not have gotten away so easily. Why didn't you do your duty to your master?" he asked as they began to circle each other. Both were looking for an opening that would end the battle quickly; though perhaps for very different reasons

"Pein ordered me to track you down, not to stop you. That was for zombie twins to do. I didn't think I had to get involved." He said and took the opportunity to slash at Itachi.

The Uchiha was prepared and leapt out of the way, forming seals for the Grand fireball jutsu in the blink of an eye. The flames that erupted from his mouth charred a huge path to Kisame. The Mist nin countered with a powerful water technique that overwhelmed the fireball jutsu and soaked everything that had caught fire only moments before.

A strong gust of wind sent the resultant steam sloughing away revealing an unscathed and unperturbed Itachi.

"Not Pein, I'm talking about your true master, Uchiha Madara." He said

Kisame smirked and attacked. Itachi dodged again and again never letting the sword get close enough to shred his skin or absorb his chakra. He could see Kisame becoming frustrated. The blue man was terrifyingly strong with stamina to match a jinchuuriki but he was prone to some very human weaknesses; impatience being just one of them. As Kisame swung at him, Itachi flung a handful of kunai. Using Samehada he scattered them. As they flew just out of range, the exploding tags detonated. Rather than concussive force, they created a field of toxic gas that made Kisame's eyes water and burn.

He jumped away from cloud and right into an attack. Itachi kicked out, barely missing the mist nin's head. As Itachi tried again, he brought the sword up to deflect the blow and knocked the smaller man away. Itachi skidded to a halt as Kisame felt the parasite shred away some of the Uchiha's chakra. He smiled.

"Have you gotten soft, Uchiha? Has being in your old home made you weak?" he asked, going on the offensive again

Itachi seemed to ignore the words and activated his mangekyo sharingan.

Kisame wasn't surprised. He was surprised that Itachi hadn't done it before. In all the times he'd witnessed Itachi fight, he's noticed that the man used the exact amount of force necessary to subdue or kill his opponent. He was neither wasteful nor did he underestimate the enemy. What Itachi seemed to be doing was stalling for time or drawing out the battle for a reason Kisame wasn't aware of. The Uchiha was terrifyingly strong, so it was unlikely that he was waiting for back-up. It seemed as though he really did want to talk though drawing out the battle was costing him.

Under normal circumstances Kisame would not have expected to lay a hit on the Uchiha this early in a fight, especially since they both knew that he didn't have any chakra to waste. Kisame shouldered his sword and began a series of seals; moving faster than the eye could see. He wanted this battle done, he had a mission to complete and this confrontation was holding him back. He completed the seals and summoned the ocean.

Itachi didn't react, other than to use his chakra to stay on the surface of the water. His scarlet eyes followed the enormous fins that rose and fell around him.

"Fire is weak against water, Itachi. Give up now and I will make your death quick."

"I can use more than fire, Kisame. You should know that, after all, you were chosen to be my opponent from the beginning, right?"

Kisame smirked. "Just figure that out, genius?"

Itachi smirked. "No. I've always known. Why did you let me go when there was a perfect opportunity for you to finish me off?"

"You're not going to give up, are you?" Kisame asked, silently cursing the unusually talkative Uchiha.

"No. I know your past Kisame, though you never spoke of it. I know what type of missions you specialised in. You are a traitor by profession but I have always felt that you aren't happy with that."

"You are a sentimental young fool Uchiha. Don't ascribe your high minded motives to me. Whatever you think you know about me is what I wanted you to know; nothing more. I didn't kill you at the border because I wanted a fair fight between us. I want to know who is stronger; the genius prodigy or the monster of the Hidden Mist. Each time we sparred was a rehearsal for this moment."

Kisame attacked, sending his water sharks after Itachi as well. Itachi caught his eyes and cast a genjutsu closely followed by scalding wave of flames that burnt even the water it rested on. Kisame smirked as his water clone vanished in a puff of steam. He rose up behind Itachi who turned, bleeding eyes meeting his own. Kisame could feel the genjutsu slide right over him. By the time the Uchiha realised that his strongest illusion had failed, Kisame's foot caught him under the jaw and sent him flying into the remains of tree. Before the younger man could recover, he was there to wrench him to his feet and pin him with Samehada. The parasite leached off the Itachi's chakra in greedy swills.

"How?" asked Itachi

"You tried to end this battle with one blow. You underestimated me Uchiha or perhaps you overestimated yourself. Instead of conserving your chakra, you should have attacked me straight out and then, maybe, maybe you would have stood a chance. That was your fatal mistake." He then pushed the sword's razor edge into Itachi's stomach. Itachi grunted and in a poof, the clone dispersed. The blow caught him on the side of the head doing little damage but annoying him to no end. Why was the boy playing with him? Why didn't he just attack instead of dancing around as he was doing? What did he want? The blow spun him around but took only milliseconds to recover from.

"What are you playing at Uchiha? What are you trying to achieve? Your genjutsu will not work on me. My eyes are adapted for seeing under water so there is no way you can't catch me in a genjutsu unless you get can get up close and personal and we know that if you do that, this battle is over for you. In fact, it's been over from the first day we met. You can't beat me Uchiha. The outcome of this battle was determined from the day that Madara told me who you were."

Instead of looking beaten, the Uchiha straightened visibly.

"The conclusion is not inevitable Kisame. It never is. One misstep by either of us; one failure to realise the significant could mean the difference between victory and defeat. A single choice can change everything."

Kisame laughed then. He surprised himself with the level of his amusement and disgust. Who would believe that a man like Uchiha could have failed to realise the hard truth in this life?

"Baka!" he forced out between guffaws leaning on the tree behind him for support. "Everything is inevitable! The weak die and the strong prosper. Everyone's death is written the moment they are born and nothing else matters. It's all a question of finding the man who will deliver yours." He said feeling all mirth die away. "I've delivered death to many people Uchiha, maybe even more than you and they all ask why at some point. Maybe the words never reach their lips but it's in their eyes. Why am I dying? Why does it have to be me and not you?" He hands clenched on his sword. The parasite sensing his agitation began to rustle uncomfortably. "Do you know what the answer is?"

The younger man did not reply. His mangekyo died and returned to the more familiar sharingan. "What is the answer, Kisame? Why do some of us die and others live?"

For a moment all thought died as his mouth answered without thought. He smiled. "I don't know. I never know. I am the instrument of countless deaths and I've never known why they had to die...till now. You have to die Uchiha because you are simply too strong to live. You've always been too strong. For the moon's eye plan to succeed... for true peace to succeed, there must be no one alive who can break through it. Your death has always been _inevitable_. Any weapon can be turned against its owner." All trace of humour vanished as the sharks that had been content to circle beneath the surface rose up and ripped the younger man to shreds. It happened in the blink of an eye. One minute he was there and then next, all that was left was a blood in the clear water.

And then, everything changed. Suddenly Kisame found himself bound head to foot in chains and seals. His sword lay some distance away similarly wrapped. Standing calmly in front of him was an unperturbed Uchiha; dry and if a bit tired.

"When did you get me, Uchiha?" He asked, oddly unsurprised. It seemed that his death had come at last. It was only fitting that one betrayer should die at the hands of another.

"Right before you kicked me into the tree. Just because I'm going blind doesn't mean that I wouldn't notice poor vision in those around me. I knew about your eyes for a long time. I knew that for me to win against you that I would need to get close enough to use a powerful genjutsu without expending too much of my energy." He smirked "In other words, I needed you to move closer to me and what better way that to let you inside my guard?"

"_**That was when Itachi cast the genjutsu closely followed by scalding wave of flames that burnt even the water it rested on. Kisame smirked as his water clone vanished in a puff of steam. He rose up behind Itachi who turned, bleeding eyes catching his own. And just like that the battle was over. Itachi watched as Kisame crumpled to the ground, his mind locked securely away from his body. Within the Mist nins mind he continued the fight. He saw Kisame smirk as he felt chakra slide over him. Only half focused on the imaginary fight. Itachi performed the sealing jutsu that locked his opponent's chakra away even more securely than he had locked his mind."**_

He took a step back and squatted in front of the mist nin. For a moment he said nothing, then seeming to come to decide something he said, "You're wrong. You're wrong about everything. You've never been just an instrument, a _tool_...you had a choice, as I had a choice. You just chose not to choose; to let someone else do it for you."

With that the Uchiha stood and without another word vanished. In his place came masked Konoha Anbu with metal cages to absorb chakra and a large pair of tongs with which to grasp the parasite.

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	37. Trapped

**Hey guys, very short chapter I know but I've started working on my research paper again and it is eating up my time. On the plus side, the next chapter should be out soon. Thanks go to all of you who reviewed, favourited or alerted. I cherish every single alert. Enjoy.**

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**TRAPPED**

Sam was sweaty and furious by the time the sun rose but he wasn't satisfied. He couldn't stop thinking about Erica and what she'd said and what he'd said. _Shit._ He couldn't even think about it without using ridiculous abstractions. She'd rejected him…as he'd always known she would. Why had he said anything? What did he really hope to achieve? They were friends. They had always been friends and that was what they would always be… just friends…if she didn't hate him now, that was.

He punched the tree harder. It shuddered and began to crack. Maybe he was exaggerating. Erica wasn't the kind of person to throw away a friendship over something like this. It would be awkward for a while but he meant something to her, didn't he? He gritted his teeth and felt the bark of the tree splinter under his fist. He shouldn't have left her like that. He should have…He didn't know what he should have done, only that he shouldn't have left her crying on a bench in the middle of the night with only her shady Anbu guard for company. With a final hit, the tree shattered sending splinters as large as his arm flying in every direction. He dodged them all by using a substitution jutsu that took him to the other end of the training ground.

With a heaving sigh he settled against the trunk and began unwrapping the bloody bandages that covered his knuckles. He winced slightly as he peeled away a particularly sore section. If Erica saw him now, she would undoubtedly launch into a tirade about overzealous training and certain people (Sam obviously) not taking good care of themselves. Then she would insist on finding him a doctor even though he'd had worse injuries since he got here and would undoubtedly have more.

He grinned as he remembered their last big fight about his health practices. Erica could be a monumental pain in the ass but her heart was usually in the right place. He suddenly had the urge to punch something again. He shouldn't have pushed her about going home. He should have laid out his plan calmly and logically and let her decide. After all, he'd known that she would be worried about safety._ He_ was worried about safety. He should have made it clear that he had no intention of trying it before he knew that it was 100% safe; that he would risk his life but never hers.

It all seemed to go wrong for him; everything, always. Looking down at his hands he realised that he'd split one of his knuckles down to the bone. With a sigh of intense frustration, he resigned himself to seeing Sakura again and the inevitable beration she would lay on him.

He wasn't looking forward to that either. She'd encouraged him to express his feelings; to tell Erica how he felt about her but look where that got him. Plus, there was what happened after. He remembered the feel of the wind on his face and warm hands resting against his cheeks and then… He pushed the thoughts far out of his mind. If he didn't want to think about Erica, he really, _really_ didn't want to think about that. The repercussions and possible meanings were…

He jumped down from the branch and began rewrapping his hands. He'd try stitching them up himself. It would hurt but it would be worth it. Maybe he should study some medical jutsu? He was selecting a stronger looking tree when there was a sudden explosion coming from near the main gate.

It caught him by surprise and a tree caught him by the back. The air began to saturate with smoke. Sam pushed himself upright and began brushing at the detritus that clung to him. His overactive mind was already calculating the probabilities. It had come from near the gate where a large cloud of smoke was now coating the entire area. The explosions continued but with less force as it seemed to move away. He began to run towards it and then stopped.

A dark haired figure dashed in front of him at the edge of the forest closely followed by someone who was bright blonde and very familiar. Lest he have any doubts as to whom it was;

"Sasuke!"

Sam took a moment to sigh in exasperation before turning to chase after the blonde. He leapt the wall and squashed himself like a bug against a zapper. He came to his senses lying on a patch of charred grass looking up at Kakashi.

"Oh, you're alive." came his far too calm drawl "Sakura?"

"It's impenetrable, I can't shake it." She said as she grabbed Sam's hand and pulled him to his feet. He tried to look at the wall but she forced his eyes to meet hers. For a crazy moment he thought she was going to kiss him but she merely pulled his eyelid up and looked into both his eyes before running chakra through her hands. The headache he didn't realise he had, disappeared.

"A barrier?" Sam asked surveying the wall

"Yes. It seems to cover the entire village." Kakashi paused as though listening to something, " Yamanaka says that he can't sense anything beyond the wall. We've been cut off."

"From help?" asked Sam

Kakashi turned calm eyes to him, "No, from escape."


	38. Left Behind

**Hey guys, pretty short chapter. I hope you enjoy.**

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**LEFT BEHIND**

Suigetsu jumped from building to building, desperately trying to keep up with Sasuke without being seen by either the Uchiha or the irate blonde who was chasing him. He could hear Karin swearing behind him but soon realised that Juugo wasn't following. No time! He didn't have time to think about Juugo right now. There was something very wrong with the whole situation. Sasuke may trust the masked man who called himself Madara but the former Mist nin was very suspicious of anyone who remained masked even after revealing their identity. He huffed as he jumped a building ducking beneath a clothesline only to tangle his sword. By the time he freed himself, Karin was right behind him and he'd lost sight of Sasuke.

"Fuck!" he swore "Skank, which direction?" he asked

She was worried enough that she didn't even respond to the name calling.

"That way." She said and pointed

The village of Konoha was a mess but as they moved out of the central area, things got quieter. Not for the first time, he questioned whether he should interfere at all. Sasuke was powerful. He had defeated Orochimaru, after all. It had been the only reason Suigetsu had consented to follow him; that and the possibility of winning one of the legendary blades of the Hidden Mist. As they had travelled together he had come to respect the man, even though he considered his reluctance to kill a weakness. He even understood Sasuke's desire to kill his brother though he was sure that there was much more to story of the massacre than Sasuke had told him. Now everything had changed. Suddenly Sasuke didn't want to kill his brother anymore. Because of whatever the masked man had told him, Sasuke now wanted to destroy Konoha.

The man, Madara he said his name was, came to them as they camped near a cave, not five miles away from Konoha.

"I'm going back to the village," Sasuke's brother had said "find me." So that was what they were doing.

Karin thought it was madness. She refused to believe that Uchiha Itachi, mass murderer and S Class missing nin would simply give himself over to the village that would, no doubt execute him. She tried to convince him that it was some sort of elaborate trick to get him to return to his village. He didn't even listen to her. He spent a lot of the trip brooding silently and sharpening his weapons. Sasuke would be a fool to go back to a village that he'd abandoned. Stupid softy village or not, the penalty for desertion was always death. If they went with him, they were almost certainly going to their deaths. It weighed heavily on them all. Sasuke for his part spoke in I's and Me's. He didn't expect them to give up their lives to his quest for revenge but he didn't tell them to go away either. The group spoke less and less as the choice remained unvoiced.

As Juugo roasted a couple of fish and Karin cast longing looks at the Uchiha, Suigetsu realised that he simply couldn't take it anymore.

"Uchiha," he said "If you back, I'll go with you. Your village may be crap but it has some pretty good fighters."

Juugo nodded and Karin lazily commented that she would have to go into Konoha to get supplies anyway since she had to be going south soon. They were all grinning quietly, secretly, when HE showed up. He just seemed to appear in their midst wearing the Akatsuki cloak and that strange swirly mask. After avoiding their attacks effortlessly, he'd begun to talk about the founding of Konoha. It was only a matter of time before he had Sasuke on his back with a kunai to his throat but he just kept talking. As he recounted how Uchiha Madara left the village, he put away the kunai and offered Sasuke a hand. To the Uchiha's credit, he didn't showing anything but anger. Suigetsu had been afraid. None of them were weak, not even Karin. Juugo was the original curse seal bearer yet this man disabled him with genjutsu and taijutsu as easily as they could disable a civilian. Even more than that, he did it without killing any of them.

"Do you want to know more, Sasuke?" he asked "I could tell you _everything_. After all, we're practically family."

"I have no family."

"Oh really? I thought you had a brother, a homicidal, patricidal, genocidal brother. Don't you want to know why he did it?"

"I already know. He did it to test his ability, to test his strength." Sasuke said

"Do you still believe _that_? Don't you want to know why he _really_ did it?" he asked and for a second Suigetsu's could swear that the man's eye had gone Uchiha red.

Sasuke saw it too. He nodded. "Tell me."

"Very well," the man said nodding, eye turning black again "Come."

He took Sasuke's arm and they disappeared. When Sasuke returned later, on foot, he was a different man. He spoke to no one but killing intent rolled off of him in waves. Juugo, who'd flipped out when the masked man had appeared was the one to finally ask what had happened. The story the Uchiha told shocked none of them, they all knew the treacherous things villages did to survive. They knew that much had been left out but what he'd said had been enough.

"What will you do?" Karin asked "Are you still going after your brother?"

"No." He replied wearily, seeming much older than his 17 years

"What will you do?" asked Juugo

"Destroy them all. I'm going to destroy Konoha for what they did to my family."

For a moment they were all silent.

"You're not going alone. We said we'd go with you and that's final. I keep my word." Suigetsu said

"Me too." added Juugo

For a long moment Karin said nothing. She seemed to be thinking hard about something till Suigetsu could stand it no longer.

"Welll! You in or not? If you're too chickenshi..."

"I said I was going to Konoha already, you ass! Why the hell do I have to say it again! Do you have fucking amnesia..."

Suigetsu turned away to ignore her ranting. "I'm going for more fish." He said and took a sip of water. Wandering into the woods, he resolved that they would all make it. He'd come to like Team Hebi. They were useful company and he'd spent a long time in that tank.

He watched as Sasuke jumped the wall and felt the barrier as it rose up to cover the village. Even with Karin behind him and Juugo off being crazy somewhere, he felt like he was back in that tank again.

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**Review?**

**Additional Note: I'm not sure if I should do this but a reviewer asked a very interesting question. She asked **

"From: Anonymous

:this story is good, but where is she getting all these abilities from?"

**Her abilities aren't random nor are they all powerful. I have a very good explanation for what they are and how she has them. However, I can't tell you; not yet anyway because it will affect something a little later in the story. I know the story is awefully long but it's not too much longer. It may also require me to simply tell you how it happened Writer to Reader (though a good writer shouldn't have to) but I simply don't know where to put an explanation when it's something none of the characters knows as yet. I know this doesn't answer the question but I will answer it eventually, I promise. **


	39. A Few Other Things

**A FEW OTHER THINGS**

Kakashi was the first to realise that they weren't alone but he said nothing about it. They'd been following Sasuke and had barely enough time to stop and hide as the barrier went up around the village. He himself had only just managed to stop and pull Sakura out of the danger before they too would have been...repelled. Sam's eyes opened.

"Oh, you're alive." He said to the boy as he listened to Inoichi Yamanaka's voice in his head.

"It's a good one and more than likely, it's coming from outside the village." He concluded "I haven't seen one this strong since the Hokage fought that snake bastard. We've sent some Anbu to test the entire range for weaknesses but unless we can find who or what is generating it, I don't think we'll be able to bring it down. We'll have to count on Anko and her team. They're the only ones outside the wall who have enough intel to make sense of this."

Sam was looking about him, assessing the situation. "A barrier?" Sam asked finally

"Yes. It seems to cover the entire village. Yamanaka says that he can't sense anything beyond the wall. We've been cut off." Kakashi replied

"From help?" asked Sam

Kakashi turned to him, "No, from escape."

It was a strange situation indeed and getting stranger by the minute. In a lot of ways, it was an ideal attack scenario; a true classic. The Akatsuki wanted Naruto and perhaps Erica, so they created a diversion. They had somehow enlisted Sasuke to draw Naruto away and used a barrier jutsu to prevent any aid from reaching them. However, some things didn't add up. Why was Sasuke working with the Akatsuki; the very organisation his despised brother belonged to? Why did he abandon his comrades, who clearly didn't know that they were going to be sealed inside of Konoha? Was this the work of the masked man calling himself Madara or was this some variation on Pein's attack on Konoha?

These were questions that could not be answered by the information Erica had provided them. Some things were the same; Pein's jutsu's and the abilities of the Akatsuki members. Other details of the attack were completely different. It had been Itachi who had first suggested the possibility that Erica's and his own actions could have changed the manner in which events would unfold. It seemed as though the younger man had been right.

"What do we do sensei?" Sakura asked

He smiled beneath his mask. It had been a long time since she had forgotten herself and called him teacher.

"We're not getting through the barrier here. We'd need to find out which of our attackers created it and disable them."

"Will Naruto be okay? That Sasuke guy is pretty strong." Sam asked

"I'm sure he'll be fine. I think we need to focus on our opponents now and let Naruto deal with Sasuke." he replied. He hoped that it was true but knew that they had to get through that barrier. If Naruto lost control...

"Opponents? What opponents?" Sam asked, finally spreading his chakra to scan the environment. Kakashi deactivated the sharingan, deciding that he may have more need of it later.

A sudden wind buffeted his face as Deidara of the Akatsuki came over the forest from the direction of the gate. Clinging to the clay bird and shrieking about not liking heights was the strange masked man who had replaced Sasori in the organisation. Usually Kakashi would never back down from a fight as potentially challenging as this would be but these were not normal circumstances. Tobi, who claimed to be Uchiha Madara, was playing the part of the idiot but Kakashi wasn't fooled. If even half of what Erica said about him was true, then his very presence in Konoha put everyone at risk. Deidara was a strong opponent but Tobi was the real threat.

Information is power for a shinobi. The right information can save lives in the field and cripple seemingly invincible foes. He could only hope that this was the case now. The Hokage and her advisory council had analyzed the information Erica had given them and developed a strategy for dealing with the problem of the Akatsuki and Pein's attack on Konoha. A part of that plan was the development of specialised squads for taking down the various members of the Akatsuki. It hadn't been luck that had sent Anko's team out of the village once they recognised Pein as the attacker. Kakashi himself had been assigned to the squad designated to fight Tobi. However, his team was likely scattered across Konoha engaged in various individual battles and frankly, Kakashi couldn't think of a worse place to fight Tobi that inside the village.

He reached up and turned on his radio. There was no point in maintaining radio silence if their enemies were inside the walls.

"Yamanaka, we need Team Sendo at my co-ordinates. Leak the information to Danzo as well. Have you had any response from Anko's Team? Okay, soon." Kakashi turned the headset back off.

The clay bird was almost on top of them.

"Hatake san, what do we do?" Sam asked

He analysed their chances. Sam was an inexperienced fighter who was prone to sporadic fits of impulsiveness. Sakura was more experienced but was better at close combat. Most of her powerful attacks would be useless unless they could somehow get her in the air. Sam's special power could be of use but he was still untrained in using that ability in combat. He'd only used it effectively when they'd retrieved Erica. They would stand a chance if their back up arrived in time but he wasn't willing to risk the lives of his team on that chance; especially when Tobi didn't seem hostile.

"Sempai!" Tobi squealed in panic as the bird carrying the two of them rose and fell erratically.

"I'm not your goddamn Sempai! Now get the hell off!"

"But Sem...Deidara-chan! Tobi is afraid of heights!"

"Just jump off, yeah!"

"Sempaii!"

The bird banked sharply and crossed over the wall and through the barrier. As it passed outside the wall the invisible force slowly pushed Tobi off. He fell as gracefully as a rock and landed in a cloud of dust at the very edge of the forest.

"Sempaii!"

"Stop calling me Sempai, you Uchiha freak!" Deidara yelled, sneering as the wind swirled around him. He turned to face Kakashi, "Oy, ever wonder why the Kyuubi went berserk and nearly destroyed your village?" He hooked a thumb in the direction of Tobi who was pushing himself awkwardly to his feet. "Consider it a gift from Pein-sama to Konoha, yeah." With an irritating smirk, the blonde gave a wave and turned the bird towards an area of forest that was emitting smoke and the sound of lightening.

It was all Kakashi could do to resist 'facepalming' as Erica would say. He was not a man to believe in luck (black cat excuses or not) but he was seriously beginning to think that Sam and Erica were ill omened. He resolved to be more involved in Sam's efforts to get home.

Tobi turned to look at Deidara and then back to them. They watched as the air seemed to swirl around him like water going down a drain. For a moment nothing happened then a wave of killing intent spread across the area while a rage filled red eye opened.


	40. Fight or Flight

**Hey guys, long time no see. Thank you Kittywithfangs for reviewing, it was just what I needed to start posting again. I have been working on the story so I have a few chapters saved up. I know it's no excuse but this story is a lot longer than I originally intended and I think the idea of finishing it intimidates me. I've seen too many epic stories (not that I'm saying that mine is epic, just epic length) falter at the end to not be a little nervous. Also, the ending I had in mind was flexible to incorporate the revelations in the recent manga so I've been trying to incorporate that stuff. I hope you enjoy the chapter. The next one will be out next week. Sorry again.**

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**FIGHT OR FLIGHT**

I stared in shock at the scene unfolding in front of me. Tobi was in the process of fighting Kakashi, Sam, Sai, Sakura and Yamato. On the fringes of the fight masked Anbu, waited for openings and took turns providing distraction and support. Overall it was like a group of hyenas wearing down a lion but this lion wasn't tiring. He leapt, parried and struck by turn, moving faster than should be humanly possible. Some attacks he didn't dodge, simply allowing the kunai or tanto to pass right through him. No matter what the Konoha nin did, they couldn't seem to corral Tobi long enough to do any damage; he materialised and dematerialised far too quickly.

"Now!" yelled Kakashi

Everything seemed to slow down. Tobi dodged a punch by Sakura that would have taken his head off just as Sai swept in from the other side. The Uchiha dodged again and put his back towards the wall and the barrier that covered it. There was the chirping sound of a chidori and Sam appeared in a puff of smoke right in front of the Uchiha. I think I screamed then, sure that Sam was about to die. Sam raised his hands and (without touching him) knocked Tobi ten feet backwards into the wall. The wall which had been just a regular stone barrier before crackled and spat like an offended cat, releasing power in a rush. I recognized the effect from my unfortunate experiences of being locked up both in Ame and Konoha. The wall was covered in some kind of barrier jutsu.

Before the masked man could recover, Kakashi leapt over Sam and shoved his lightening coated hand through his chest.

For a long silent second, I thought it was over; everyone was so still. I'm not sure I even breathed but...but something was wrong. Kakashi reacted as the thought formed in my head. There was a sound like a rip and the air around Tobi exploded. Debris from the wall flew through the masked man as Kakashi jumped backwards.

"Sam!" he yelled

Sam swung his arms upwards towards the blast and sent the chunks of rock blasting back towards Tobi and away from the Konoha nin. A wave of dust rolled away from the impact to cover the area in a thick choking fog. Standing where I was, the dust didn't reach me but I could hear the sounds of fighting; the metal twang of kunai hitting kunai, screams and meaty thumps.

"Is that all you have? Is Konoha nothing without the Senju clan!?" There was a solid smack and one of the Anbu flew out of the settling dust to land bloody and clearly dead not five feet from me.

Suddenly, a blast of flame rushed outwards from the dust. I flung myself towards the ground just as I felt the wave of heat roar over me. By the time it passed I felt more than a little scorched. Thinking of Sam and the others I forced myself to my feet. The field was now on fire all to way to the far treeline where some of the ninja had clearly fled. Many had not been so fortunate; their blackened bodies littered the field and stank of roasted meat. Standing in the midst of the carnage was a triumphant Madara whose clothes smoked gently.

I must have made some kind of sound or else he noticed my unconscious backwards step because he turned and looked right at me. I took another step backward and quickly moved right, away from the barrier (the charge it was giving off put my hair on end).

"Hello Erica, I hear you've been keeping secrets." He said as he slowly walked towards me, seeming unconcerned about the remaining ninja

I began walking backwards as calmly as I could while trying to keep both him and the other ninja in sight. Silently I prayed that none of the blackened husks were anyone I knew. Had Kakashi and Sakura been strong enough to keep Sam safe?

'You're not paying attention to me! Isn't Erica chan happy to see Tobi?!" asked Tobi as he launched himself at me.

I shrieked and fell backwards only to have him grab me in a hug and spin me around by my shoulders.

"Put me down!" I yelled

"But Tobi has soo much to tell Erica chan!"

He set me down next to the wall "But first Erica san needs to bring down the barrier so Tobi can meet up with leader-sama." His voice changed to Madara's "We have much to discuss."

"The barrier?" I said turning to look at the wall and then back to him "I can't take down the barrier. How the hell would I do that? I can't even get close to it, it's dangerous." I say quickly. I glanced behind him to the now empty treeline and then back up to his chin.

"Not as dangerous as I am and don't even think that they can rescue you." he gestured to the ninja eyeing us from near the treeline "They can't lay a finger on me." He said with a chuckle

"I don't know anything about barriers. How am I supposed to take this one down?"

I could practically feel him smile. "It's a good thing I know more than you, then. All you need to do is reach out with your power and pull, that's all. If you take enough energy, the barrier should come down."

"Pull? Wait, how do you know I can absorb chakra?"

"You'd be surprise how much I know about your ability Erica, much more than Konoha at any rate. If they had any idea of what you can _really_ do, you'd never have seen the outside of a Konoha prison cell. I'll be happy to tell you everything there is to know when you take down this barrier."

"And if I can't?"

"The force will kill you. If I suspect you of trying to deceive me, I will do it myself and find another way out of the Leaf village." He replied

I felt my fear spike and my heart stop in my chest. I glanced at the wall (and its invisible protective coat) and then back at the man who had killed more than ten people with less effort than it took me to eat an ice cream cone.

I flicked a glance up and it was over. His eye, sharingan red caught mine and held it. I saw my death in that moment. It was as real and as sudden as Hikari's had been. It hurt so much I fell to my knees. I looked up at Tobi...Madara or whoever he was. _I was really getting tired of the different names._

"Bring down the barrier." He commanded

Panting, I nodded and forced myself to my feet, to focus.

"It's for the best; no one here can kill me. The village will fall to tsukiyomi but not today."

I grit my teeth and forced myself to ignore his words and the uncertainty that I felt. Instead, I focused on the feel of my power as it lay coiled inside me. Gathering and compressing my chakra, I estimated the distance. With a hiss, I released it. I felt it pass through the space in front of me faster and easier than ever before.

It collided with Madara and stopped. I felt it grasping, sending tendrils searching for an opening to his body, to his power but finding none.

"Foolish, foolish, girl," He said, all but laughing at me "I told you. I know what you are even better than you do. Bring down the barrier and I will teach you what these fools can never comprehend."

My chakra snapped back into me with an almost physical force. "Fuck you." I said

This time he did laugh.

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**And done. See you next Monday or Tuesday. Review?**


	41. Chance

**Hey guys, firstly I would like to thank those of you who favourited or reviewed especially: Kittywithfangs, SaiyaCat, Kyoki no Megami, a long time reader kwisy, somedayisours and killerwolfy1. I think you guys are awesome, especially those of you who took the time to review. Your words encourage me more than I can say. Thanks. **

**On a less sappy, review seeking, note. I hope you enjoy the chapter. **

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**Dealing with the Devil**

I yelled as Madara reached down easily and grabbed the front of my shirt.

In the next moment two things happened; Kakashi's dogs burst out of the ground around the ankles and thighs of the man in front of me and Madara (with a Tobi laugh) flung me into the barrier. You'll forgive me if I say that I missed what happened after that.

I remember the feeling of being frozen and burning as energy poured into me in waves. I hadn't needed to activate my power at all, as soon as my body made contact, the force rushed straight into me.

Then it was over. I gulped air and never tasted anything sweeter.

"The barrier's down!" someone screamed and with a rush of air someone appeared next to me

Before I could react, arms lifted me up and curled around my waist.

"Hey bitch," I glanced up but realised that he wasn't talking to me "take her over the wall and find the Uchiha."

"Hell no! I'm not carrying that cow, why don't you carry her?"

"We don't have time for this!" Suigestsu yelled

I didn't have time for this either. I reached for my power but for the first time it hurt. It felt like I was pulling a needle covered blanket through my veins! I felt weak and tired. While I was having these thoughts, Suigetsu lifted me and jumped the wall. I struggled weakly against him but I was _so_ tired. What had that barrier done to me? I closed my eyes and felt myself drifting off. Just when I was beginning to really lose consciousness I felt Suigetsu tense. Forcing my eyes open, I tried to push myself up in his arms. He was talking to someone. I twisted my head but my eyesight was blurry and the sun was too bright.

"This is your last warning. Put her _down_."

"Crow?" I said blearily

"Heh," came Suigetsu's voice, sounded amused and irritated "fine. If that's what you _really _want." He said and then he dropped me

I didn't even realize what he had done till I collided hard with the front of Crow's Anbu vest. I glanced down to see the forest floor at least fifteen feet below me.

"Ouch." I mumbled

"Sorry." He said as he jumped from the tree to the ground. "Can you stand?"

'Mm, I think so."

He let go of me and I fell immediately. He caught me and guided me into a sitting position. When I tilted backwards, he sighed loudly.

"Sorry." I muttered and turned on my side, not caring about masked men, murderers or walls.

"Erica!" came Sam's worried and very hoarse voice

Sakura dropped down next to me and immediately began to fuss; pressing her glowing hands at points on my head and chest, even going so far as to stick her hand under my blouse.

"Hey..." I protested

Suddenly Kakashi was standing behind Sakura, "Stay with her, Madara may have disappeared but that's no guarantee that he's actually gone, that goes for you too Sam."

"But Naruto, they're saying he lost it…that he turned into some kind of monster…"

Kakashi eye crinkled at him, "Don't worry, everything will be fine." Then he was gone

_Jeez, he is a terrible liar. _I thought

I took a deep breath and forced myself to sit up, keeping my eyes closed to lock out the sun and annoying dizziness.

"Stop that! You need to lie back down Erica. I'm not finished examining you. It's hard enough working around your chakra as it is."

"I'm okay." I said

"No you're not. I think whatever kind of force was in that barrier fried your pathways. I don't know how you're even alive…" she said and I could hear an edge of confusion in her voice "I need to stabilise you before we move you to the hospital.

Sam, who had been acting as a sunshield squatted down and gently eased me back onto the grass. His…his face…In the shock, of seeing him injured, I didn't even resist.

"Sam…what happened?" I said as I unthinkingly reached up to touch his face

He caught my hand and held it. "It's nothing, I got burnt a bit, that's all."

I saw Sakura frown at him and then look turn to me. "He tried to use his power to block a grand fireball jutsu."

"I used it to save those ninja's lives. They would have died."

"It could have killed you, idiot!" She said and I could swear that she was getting teary eyed. "Why do you boys always have to be so damned reckless?" With a swift glance at the distant cloud of ash and destruction, she turned resolutely back to me.

Sam being Sam replied to me; "It's not that stupid. I underestimated how strong it was considering how low on chakra_ I_ was. I'm not even burned really, just a little…scalded." He said

"Shit!" I swore trying to wrench my arm away from Sakura "What the hell are you doing?"

"Your muscles were damaged by the overload, I'm repairing some of the tissue and easing the stiffness. If I can repair some of the damage to your muscles it will make moving you much easier and less painful, so stop fighting me."

"But why does it hurt? Healing never hurt before."

"Your pathways were burned by chakra so any new chakra is going to feel like pouring acid over acid burns." She finished sounding harassed

With a sigh, I relaxed my arm and tried to focus on anything other than Sakura.

"Talk to me Sam," I said finally and desperately "Why the hell was there a barrier around the village and why was Tobi inside of it?"

Sam took my other hand gently "I'm not completely sure but my guess is that it was Pein's doing. Deidara literally dropped Tobi off inside the barrier and flew off."

"Through the…uhh *I swallowed hard* through the barrier?" _I must not snap at Sakura. I must not snap at Sakura. _She moved to my other arm and the pain began again.

'Yeah. He said that we should take it as a gift from Pein."

"Oh, so Pein betrayed Madara? How about the rest of creatures and stuff, did any of them show up in the village?"

"I don't know. I was waiting here for Naruto at the training ground. I don't really even know when it started."

_I must not snap at Sakura. I must not snap at Sakura. Jeez, what the hell is she doing to my arm? _

"Oh… Any news of Crow? Ouch Sakura!"

"Sorry." She said as she moved to my left leg.

I continued "He was here a moment ago wasn't he?"

"Yeah, he went to help Kakashi bring down that Sasuke bastard."

"Fuck Sakura! Stop, just stop!" I said and pulled away from her

I turned and really looked at her. She was a mess. Her eyes were red rimmed from trying not to cry and her face was white. She kept glancing at where the fight was taking place. I was tired, in pain and annoyed at her lack of medical professionalism but I _still_ felt sorry for her. She loved two people in that fight and had been deeply in love with a third. I took a deep breath.

"Sakura, thank you for trying to help me but you're a bit distracted right now. Maybe Sam can take me to the hospital now and you can go see how things are doing. Before she could respond Sam spoke.

"No, Kakashi said she should stay with you and you can barely move. I don't think…"

"Sam, you don't understand. She _has_ to," I tried to think of a way to convey what she must be feeling but couldn't

"Erica…"

"Sam, she's right. I need to see this through. I need to go to them. Can you take her to the hospital Sam?"

Sam looked struck, "You're disobeying a direct order from a superior. I don't think you should do this. Kakashi had good reasons for asking you to stay here."

"Sam, I can't stay behind and watch my friends go ahead of me anymore. If you have any feelings for me at all, you need to let me do this." she finished dramatically

By this I was fighting not to lie back down again. If I had any chance of getting a comfy hospital bed and maximum strength painkillers any time soon, I needed Sam to agree to this. They had an intense staring contest before Sam gave in.

"Fine. Please, be careful Sakura, remember what we talked about. It's not worth it." He said

She nodded and in a flash, she was gone.

"Hey Sam, any chance we can hurry it up here. I don't think I can last much longer."

He looked suddenly panicked. "What?!"

"Sorry, sorry… I mean that I'm going to fall asleep again and soon. I need to get to the hospital so I can get some painkillers and a nice soft bed." I said finally

It was all I could do to stay upright. When he lifted me into his arms, I barely noticed. Oddly enough, I couldn't actually sleep; my body was exhausted and in pain but my mind was all over the place trying to make sense of everything that had been happening around me. I kept going back to Madara, though. His sudden disappearance was disconcerting. Had he gone to nab Naruto or had he gone to take on Pein. Not knowing where he was made me feel oddly insecure…after all, he _had_ tried to abduct me. The forest we were moving through degenerated into patterns of light and dark as I closed my eyes and tried to make my mind stop.

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**Next chapter will be out on Friday or Saturday. I hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to review; it's like caffeine to writers. **


	42. A Bargain

**Hey guys, new chapter up. I hope you enjoy. I'm sorry to say that the story has taken a turn that I didn't see coming and for that I'm sorry. I blame Kishimoto for revealing that the masked man was actually Obito which didn't really fit my ending at all. I knew I could continue the way I had planned but I'd probably get comments in perpetuity telling me that the masked man was Obito, so meh... Review is you can; it's like crack to me. **

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**The Man behind the Mask**

Uchiha Obito aka Tobi aka Madara and behind the scenes leader of the Akatsuki was not a man who was easily surprised. He had learned to expect the worst in humanity and was seldom disappointed. As the real Madara had taught him, life was suffering and pain; watching your comrades die while you continued to exist. War was the inevitable outcome of human conflict and the losses caused by it led to more destruction and more death. Even love, love of family, comrades and home, led to conflict and more death. The world was too flawed to be fixed by anything other than the complete annihilation of human will.

It was perhaps through this understanding of human nature that he was able to comprehend and manipulate others as easily as a player moved a shogi tile. Even those with superior intelligence, like Itachi, had fallen victim to the blindness caused by love and attachments. It was therefore a great surprise to him that he himself could have been so masterfully manipulated. Of all his pawns, Pein had been one of the most easily motivated. The loss of his best friend had made him see the futility of striving for peace through aggression; as the nations had done for so long. He was therefore the last person that Obito would have expected to turn his back on their mission.

With an almost childish shrug, he pushed the thought away. It didn't matter. In the end, the Moon's Eye plan would be successful and Pein's will, his very soul would be ground into dust. Clenching his hands he stood up fully against the trunk of the tree. He'd vanished briefly into the other dimension and listened as Konoha's forces scattered in various directions scurrying like mice after one enemy or the other. He watched as the girl and her companion were left alone but for the weak pink haired whelp. When she too went haring off after the fool Sasuke, Obito considered it a stroke of good luck in an otherwise unpredictable day.

He shadowed the two of them till they were well within the wooded area that bordered the Forest of Death. The boy was tired, his left foot dragging slightly as he made his way through the underbrush. _This was almost too easy. _With a leap he inserted himself in their path. The boy was slow to react and in a moment he stood twitching under one of Obito's most devious genjutsu. He really didn't want to hurt the boy but it was better for the both of them if he didn't struggle. It would only serve to damage them before he or Madara could get any use out of them.

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**Bargain**

At some point I must have dozed off because I awoke as Madara reached to take me from Sam. My eyes shot open and I lashed out managing to knock myself out of Sam's relaxed grip and away from the pestilential masked man. Having successfully "gotten away" I found myself struggling to get to my feet.

Madara stood with an attitude of stillness that still managed to seem surprised.

"It's amazing that you can move after all the power that passed through you."

Gathering my legs under me I forced myself to my feet.

"Sam?" I said keeping my eye on Madara's feet as I tried to move closer to my friend without getting nearer to the masked psychopath "Sam, are you okay? Say something …"

With a strangled noise he hunched over on himself as though he had been punched in the stomach. As I watched, he shuddered before falling limply to the forest floor.

"Sam!" I yelled and threw myself at him. My limbs shook with the effort but I managed to roll him unto his back. "Sam? Sam!"

Throwing caution (and sanity)to the wind, I turned to face Madara. "What the hell have you done to him?!"

His lone eye gazed at me impassively and the genjutsu I had expected didn't come.

"He's experiencing the worst day of his life; something to do with killing his grandfather, I think."

"What?! Take it off of him! Take the damn genjutsu off of him right now!" I yelled

"No. Well, not unless you start doing what I tell you to do."

"The damn barrier is already down. What the hell do you want now?"

He seemed taking aback by my sudden suicidal hostility. I could feel the vicious smile in his words. "Feeling brave are we?"

I clenched my fists in Sam's jacket. "Not brave just tired; tired of _all _of this. I'm tired of being attacked, I'm tired of being kidnapped, I'm tired of being threatened and I'm goddamned tired of calling you Tobi, Madara and whoever the fuck you are! Who are you anyway?" I asked hoarsely "I know you're not Madara. Are you one of the Zetsu clones? Are you the Sage of the Seven paths? Are you Obito? You know what? I don't even care anymore! I just want to close my eyes and wake up back home; where you don't exist!"

As he still stood staring at me, I felt his mood darken. He seemed to have been lost any sense of humour he might have had by listening to me ramble. I looked down at Sam whose skin was beaded with sweat. His eyes flickered rapidly behind closed lids and as I watched, a tear slipped from the corner of his left eye to trickle down his chin.

I looked up at Madara and struggled to my feet again. I was exhausted and cornered and I couldn't do a thing about that but maybe I could do something to help Sam.

I took a deep breath "I'm sorry, I'll do what you say, just promise me that you'll take the genjutsu off of Sam and leave him in Konoha."

"And why would I do that? I have both of you right where I want you."

He had me there. As far as I knew, we were alone and no one looking for us. He had us at his mercy and he knew it; he could capture us, kill us…anything. But he hadn't, why? He was hurting Sam but he hadn't put _me_ under a genjutsu or restrained me in any way. If he had wanted us dead, we would've been dead before either of us even knew he was near us. Clearly he needed us for something and he needed us alive and … relatively unharmed. But what and why not just put me under a genjutsu too? Did it have anything to do with my ability to absorb chakra? He says that's not what I can really do or at least that my ability was way more powerful *read Mary Sue* than even Konoha knew about. I shook my head as I tried to clear the cobwebs out.

"Why haven't you just knocked me out and carted me back to wherever the hell you want to take me? Why not just put me under a genjutsu or something? Why are you even asking me to co-operate when you can pretty much _make_ me do what you want?" I asked, genuinely curious as the answer

He tilted his head to the side as though thinking and after a moment offered me his hand. "Come with me and I'll tell you."

I glanced down at Sam who was still and pale enough to be dead. The only thing that reassured me that it wasn't too late was the rise and fall of his chest.

"I'll come with you but you have to take the genjutsu off of Sam and promise to leave him in Konoha. You say no to that and I promise I will fight you _every step of the way_ and remember all I need is an inch of skin to take you down. If you let Sam go I'll… I'll do whatever you say without complaint and I won't try to escape. I'll be honest, too. I give you my word on that."

"Your word? Is that worth something?"

I scowled at him and flicked a glance at Sam. "It does to me because if I go back on my promise you'll come back to Konoha and hurt Sam."

He giggled at me and with a strange little jump, extended his hand. "Oookaaayy Erica-chan! You have a deal!"

I looked away for a moment taking in Sam's still form and the mass of trees blocking my view of Konoha. With a deep breath and a sigh, I reached out and clasped Tobi's gloved hand. With a swift tug, he pulled me closer and the world began to melt around us.


End file.
